The New Age Chronicles 02 Little Revivals
by MTP
Summary: A new face brings takes Amy to a place she never imagined. Can her past really be coming back?
1. Survival

Chapter 1 – Survival

"I tell you it never ends! Things never change!"

"Come on! At least it wasn't your fault this time!"

"I know but…..oooooh!"

"Calm down."

"I try but I just can't."

"I know how you feel. It's not easy. Plus we don't really understand what's really going on!"

"You're telling me?! Ever since we left Knotlake we haven't talked to anyone bar a few merchants. No kidding we don't know what's going on. I'm just glad I brought my gun."

"Who would have though we would have needed it."

"I know but that's life."

"Sure is Chalk. Well at least we've still got each other."

"Too darn right Sonia."

The brown rabbit looked up and smiled. She held out a hand and Sonia helped her onto her feet. The pair looked at each other and then out across the landscape. Since they had both left Knotlake a little over three weeks ago things had just gone out of control. Sonia sighed as she remembered. They hadn't been gone four days when they came to a small town. There had been a bar there and Chalk had gone a little overboard. It had taken herself and two others to retrain her before she demolished the whole place. Chalk had later apologized for the incident though. Since then the time they had spent together had been pretty quiet. Chalk had spent a lot of time sitting and thinking. Sonia hadn't disturbed her during these times and she could tell Chalk was glad she had left her alone. Sonia knew that she wasn't really supposed to be here but there had been times when Sonia had been sure that Chalk wouldn't have been able to go on without her. The bar incident had been one such time. Sonia sighed again. Then a week back it had happened. She didn't know who, why or anything else. All she knew was that they both had to get back to Knotlake as fast. At first Chalk had been a bit apprehensive saying she wasn't ready but then they had attacked. Sonia had never seen so many humans, and all armed with laser guns too. They had been in a small village at the time and it had only been Sonia and Chalk's efforts that had saved the village from complete destruction. After that Chalk had realized how much trouble the planet was in and they had set off back towards Knotlake. They had been traveling for several days now and weren't far from Knotlake.

"So what now Sonia?" asked Chalk.

"We carry on. Who knows what has happened at the village. I just hope everyone is ok still." replied Sonia.

"I know just how you feel."

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A cold wind blew but it was normal. Cold winds always blew across the Great Unknown. It wasn't so unknown now but the name had stuck. Amongst the bare rock and bare trees was a small place hardly known to anyone. A small ruin known as Drood Henge. Suddenly a large blue blur shoots across the landscape. It slowed slightly as it shot behind a rock. The blur didn't come out from behind the rock, instead a blue face poked out and glanced around. He looked at the sky and then sighed.

"Phew! I lost them." he said.

Just then a buzzing noise filled the air. He raised his arm.

"Yeah." he said.

"Sonic where are you?" came a reply from his comm.

"Just south of Drood Henge." replied Sonic, "Why Sal?"

"Sonic get back to Drood Henge now. On the double." replied Sally.

Sonic switched off his comm, took a final look at the sky and tore off again. He started to think. Sally really was acting funny. Since they had abandoned Knotlake a week ago she had kept snapping at people and going off for several hours on her own. Sonic was worried about her. He was afraid that she had finally snapped. After Knuckles had saved them at Knotlake they had made for Drood Henge so they could hide for a while. Since then the Earth Alliance had pushed it's full weight against Mobius. Ships flew across the sky and men patrolled virtually ever area. Not only that but when they had fled they hadn't been able to tell anyone else. They were all worried sick. Amy was still worried about what had happened to Tails when his transmission had cut off but she knew that Lavender was in capable hands with Links and Bunnie. Sally on the other hand had been absolutely devastated. There had been no news on Miles or Alicia at all and it even worried him. T2 had said that something had happened to Petya and they had been with her. Manic was worried about Sonia and Knuckles was concerned about Bunnie. Sonic had to remind himself that Knuckles had never known Links and didn't know how strong Lavender had become so he was bound to be concerned about Bunnie.

"Am I the only one who isn't worried?" said Sonic to himself.

Even this wasn't true. He knew his friends were capable but he was still worried. He knew Miles and Alicia had to be alive but he was still worried. But most of all he was worried about Sally.

"Hold in there Sal. Things will be ok."

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Sonia scrambled to the top of a small hill and gasped. A few seconds later Chalk appeared and had a similar reaction. They both looked down at the scene below. In a small hollow below a mountain lay the charred remains of Knotlake village. Sonia rubbed her eyes and continued to stare as Chalk turned and used a tree to steady herself as she gasped heavily.

"My god." said Sonia slowly.

Chalk looked back at the village with her jaw hanging loose. An almost sleepy expression settled on her face. She started to shake and finally collapsed to the ground.

"CHALK!" cried Sonia as she ran to her side.

Sonia pulled Chalk into a sitting position and moved her so she was sitting up against a tree. Chalk sat for a moment and suddenly spun her head and was sick. She took a deep breath.

"Chalk, are you ok?" asked Sonia gripping her hand.

Chalk shook her head.

"Not after seeing that." she replied between her gulps.

Sonia looked back at the scene. Knotlake village lay in total ruins. Parts of the mountain lay scattered around the place and only a few huts were left standing. Sonia looked back at Chalk. She had a hand to her chest and was breathing heavily.

"We should go down Chalk." said Sonia.

Chalk looked up at her and slowly nodded.

"Just give me a moment." she replied.

Sonia nodded. Soon afterwards the pair were scrambling down a steep bank into the village. When they reached the bottom they stopped. The destruction looked even worse close up. The village had been effectively leveled, pot holes lay all over and even the lake, due to the bombardment, has escaped and flowed away. It was nothing like what they knew. Chalk suddenly burst into tears and Sonia felt herself going that way too. He put an arm on Chalk's shoulder and hugged her.

"It's ok Chalk. Everything will be ok." she said.

"How can everything be ok?" wailed Chalk, "We don't even know if they are alive."

"They have to be Chalk. There's no other way about it!"

They both looked around the village again and fell silent.

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Morgan stormed into the newly established command centre in Robotropolis. His troops had recently taken it over after his prisoners had provided him with the co-ordinates. He had decided to keep the city as it was but had upgraded the defense and the control room with Earth technology. The Earth was uninterested in the city but it served as a good central base of operations for their harvesting projects. Morgan wasn't even concerned with this at the moment. He was more interested in cracking the high security coded file on the cities main database. After Robotnik had been defeated the Freedom Fighters had attempted to delete his files but had encountered a lot of tough security codes. To remedy the problem they simply installed more blocks and had planned to destroy the computers as they started to rebuilt. They had never got the chance and now Morgan was intent on breaking into the files. With the Earth tech behind him it was progressing but too slowly for his liking.

"Haven't you unlocked those files yet?!" he roared.

"Sorry sir but these blocks are alien to us and they are taking time to figure out." replied a soldier.

Morgan just scowled at him and walked off. As he was leaving the room an officer ran up to him. He saluted and held out a small report sheet.

"What's this?" asked Morgan.

"Sir we are having more trouble at the lake." replied the officer.

"MORE?! I thought I told you to remedy that situation."

"You did sir but we have been unable to stop it happening again."

Morgan growled as he scanned the report.

"Five drilling rigs, two process centers, 3 pumping stations, seventeen ground units and nine advanced mark II fighter crafts!" he cried throwing the report at the ground, "You had better stop this soon or I will be making YOU disappear!"

The officer visibly shook, saluted and ran off at a fair pace. Morgan clenched his fists. It was getting too much. Since his troops had landed a week ago they had encountered very little resistance. The entire planet was now under the control of the Earth Alliance and four days ago they had commenced operation leach. Basically the plan was to strip mine the planet and leave. Earth command and the president didn't care about the planets population just its resources but they had suffered several snags recently. In most places the drilling and extraction had gone smoothly. A few small attacks but nothing they couldn't handle. However one region had been very troublesome. It was also a great stress to Morgan as the most concentrated sources of resources could be found at Never Lake. The first drilling team had been destroyed the day after drilling had started, the second was gone before they had even set up and the third most recent team had been destroyed an hour into drilling. Maybe destroyed wasn't the right word. Vanished would be more appropriate. The drilling rigs and all their support facilities had just disappeared. The next team to arrive had found no trace of the previous team bar the holes in the ground they had made. The most frustrating thing was that they had no idea who or what was causing it.

Morgan turned and walked back into the control room. As he did he found that at least something was going his way. On a large screen in front of him was a plan view of an area of Mobius. On it two small red dots flashed.

"Sir we have blips at co-ordin…" started an officer.

"I know the location." interrupted Morgan, "Dispatch a team."

"Aye sir."

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Chalk slowly shifted through the remains of her hut. Being on the forest side of the village it had been the worse hit and it was virtually a hole in the ground. A few pieces still remained but it was mostly just charred timber. She sighed sadly and stood up. Nothing of hers had survived and all she had left now was what she had taken with her. She looked over at the pack she had been carrying for three weeks.

"If I'd know this was going to happen I would have taken more. So many memories lost. Everything's gone."

She sighed again and wiped away a tear. She knelt to the ground and ran her fingers through the dry earth. She scooped up a handful and let it run out between her fingers.

"Time seems to slip away like earth on my hand and at the same time so does our hope."

"Don't worry Chalk." said a voice.

Chalk looked up to see Sonia walking towards her. Sonia stopped and put her pack down next to Chalks.

"I've checked out the rest of the village." continued Sonia, "It looks like everyone got out. I can't find any……yeah anyway."

Chalks nodded and stood up.

"Well at least that is something I suppose." she replied.

"Chalk please don't be so sad. It's rubbing off on me and I'd rather not be sad."

"I can't help it Sonia. Even if everyone is ok I still feel sad. This was our home. We made it during a time of no hope and as this place came together our hopes started to build again. Now it is gone it's like the hope has drained away, just like the lake."

Sonia took hold of Chalk's chin and looked her directly into her eyes.

"Chalk listen to me. We have to keep going. Everyone got out of here, I can feel it. This village was our home but like all objects it is impermanent. It's sad that it is gone but there is nothing we can do about it. Right now we have to be strong and we have to find the others. THAT'S our new hope."

Chalk held Sonia's gaze and finally blinked. Sonia let go of her chin and Chalk looked down, closing her eyes. Her lips twitched and she clenched her fists. Finally she looked up at Sonia again.

"I guess you're right Sonia. It's just hard." she said.

"I know Chalk. I know."

Sonia slowly hugged Chalk and Chalk returned the gesture. They stood like that for several moments before releasing. When they did Sonia smiled.

"Now come over here and I'll cook something up." she said.

"So long as you don't burn it." replied Chalk with a sad joking laugh.

"That's the spirit Chalk." smiled Sonia as she sat down on the ground next to her pack.

She took out a camp stove and a pan, followed by some instant soup packets and water. As the water for the soup boiled, Chalk leaned over and took hold of Catrina. During her time out in the open with Sonia, Chalk had decided it was high time to give her gun a name. Catrina was a name that held a lot of feeling for her. She couldn't remember why but then most of her past was a blank anyway. She brought her gun onto her knee and took out a cloth from her pocket. She spat on it and then proceeded to wipe a bit of mud off Catrina. Sonia looked up from her cooking.

"If you polish that thing anymore you will wear away the metal." she joked.

Chalk looked up and smiled.

"She deserves the attention." smiled Chalk patting the gun on her lap, "Without her we would have been in some tricky situation in the past."

"Yeah I guess so but…..wait a sec. Do you hear that?"

Chalk cocked her head and her ears, which normally hung down in front of her face, stuck straight up. She listened for a moment and suddenly her face froze. She looked back at Sonia, her eyes wide open.

"Jet engines." she said.

"It's them! Get do…."

Sonia didn't have time to finish as a huge explosion demolished what was left of the medical hut. They looked up as six small fighter crafts flew over head.

"They just don't learn!" screamed Chalk.

She flew to her feet, the metal boom around her waist extending as she did. Chalk quickly clipped Catrina into place and charged her up. The fighter wheeled back round ready for another pass.

"Have some of this!" screamed Chalk, "I'll teach you to do this to our village!"

As she screamed out loud, Catrina reached a pitch. A yellow glow built on her tip and a huge beam of energy shot into the sky. The beam struck one of the oncoming ships and passed straight through it. Seconds later the craft exploded. The remaining five crafts suddenly split formation and banked off.

"How'd you like that?!" screamed Chalk.

"Just fire Chalk!" cried Sonia as her medallion activated and her keyboard appeared.

"You got it." replied Chalk with a smile.

The fighters came in from different directions firing. Several shots hit close but Chalk and Sonia stood firm. They moved closer together and put their backs against each other. Sonia raised her keyboard and sent a volley of laser fire into the air. One of the fighters was clipped and it spiraled out of control and hit the ground before exploding.

"Four left!" she cried.

"Soon to be two!" answered Chalk, "Explosive projectile Catrina!"

Catrina made a small whine and then bleeped. Chalk fired twice. Two small dots with spiraling white smoke trails behind them shot into the air. As they neared the two targeted crafts they exploded. The explosions were huge and vaporized half of each fighter causing the other half to explode in a giant fireball. Chalk gave a small cry and fired again. All that happened was that Catrina clicked. Chalk looked at the gun and gasped.

"Sonia! I'm out of rounds!" she yelled.

"You WHAT?!" cried Sonia, "Oh crap!"

Chalk looked at the status panel on her gun. The laser round charge counter read 0%, the explosive rounds read zero and the normal ammo counter was flashing red.

"I hardly got anything left." she said.

"That's not good." replied Sonia.

The two remaining fighters hadn't given up yet and the next volley almost hit them but they managed to dodge. Chalk looked up as the crafts flew overhead and banked to avoid the mountain. The mountain! She unclipped Catrina and shouted to Sonia.

"Sonia! The village defense systems still might be active! If I can get to the control centre I can take these things down!" she yelled.

"You got it Chalk. I'll cover you." yelled Sonia.

Chalk sprung forward running at full pelt across the village. Sonia stood up and fired wildly into the air. She couldn't fire too much or she'd exhaust the power of her medallion. The crafts came round again and fired. The lead craft fired forcing Sonia to dive to the side. As she did the second craft fired. Sonia was in the air and could do nothing as the shot hit the ground below her throwing her into the air. She landed with a crunching thud in a pile of debris. A few moments passed before an intense pain ripped across her body. Her eyes went wide and she took a gasping breath before reacting.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" she cried.

Chalk, who was almost at the mountainside, spun as she heard the scream. She could see Sonia lying in a pile of debris and was about to rush back to her. Suddenly she stopped and spun back to the mountainside. She hit a section of the rock and a panel opened in the rock face. She keyed in a code and a large door swung open. She raced inside.

"Sorry Sonia, but if I don't shoot these guys down we are both dead!" she said to herself, "Please hold on."

Chalk stopped as she entered a room inside the mountain. Most of the room was caved in but a bit was not. She raced to a console and surveyed it. A green radar circle flickered in the dark light. Next to it a number of gauges were lit red. Most of the defense systems were destroyed or had run out of energy but one dial was still green. Chalk looked at it. The dial read 23%.

"That's all I need! One shot." she said quickly activating the battery.

Outside on the cliff face a door slowly slid open. A laser cannon slowly emerged from it. In the control room Chalk watched on a monitor as the fighters came in for another run. She couldn't afford to miss. Two green cursors appeared on the monitor and slowly moved over the fighters. As they did they flashed and turned red. Chalk slammed her hand down on a key. As she did the laser cannon fired two controlled bursts into the sky. The fighters weren't expecting it and both exploded.

"YES!" cried Chalk banging her hand on the console.

She suddenly remembered Sonia, turned and fled the room. As she raced outside Sonia was still screaming. Chalk was at her side in a second.

"It'll be ok Sonia, hold still now." said Chalk looking at Sonia.

Chalk was almost sick. Sonia had landed in the debris of one of the huts and at the force she had hit…..Chalk looked again. Wooden beams from the hut had impaled Sonia through the right leg and left kidney. She also had other grazed all over from the impact. Sonia was crying in pain now and Chalk was at a loss for what to do. Whenever someone in the group had been hurt before, others had been there to help. Now it was just up to her, she couldn't fail!

"Hold still Sonia, I'll have to pull these things out. It will hurt." she said.

Chalk took hold of the beam through Sonia's leg and closed her eyes tight. She hoped she was doing the right thing. With a sharp upwards movement, Chalk pulled the wooden beam from Sonia's leg. Sonia's screams suddenly pitched and tears flooded from her eyes.

"It's ok Sonia. Just one more." said Chalk nervously as she gripped Sonia's shoulder.

She flung the first beam away and gripped the second one. With a sharp tug she pulled it out and again Sonia's scream pitched. Chalk now rolled her onto her back and gingerly picked her up. Blood was flowing freely from both wounds and already both of them were covered in Sonia's blood. Chalk quickly put Sonia down and fished through her pack. She took out a large wad of bandages. Screwing some up she packed them against Sonia's would to try and stop the blood. She then got some more and wrapped every last bandage they had around her two wounds. The blood was flowing so freely thought that all the bandages were soon covered in blood. Chalk shot a glance at her pack and Catrina and then another at Sonia.

"Possessions don't matter now. I need to find the others quickly before Sonia…"

Chalk sprung to her feet scooping Sonia up as she went. Without looking back she fled the village at a sprit.


	2. Unknown Relatives

Chapter 2 – Unknown Relatives

A red hedgehog stopped in a clearing and looked around. He looked pretty normal apart from some strange blue marks on his quills and head and the fact that he carried a large pole with a blade on either end. A thinking look crossed his face as he grinned.

"So they think they can stop me with that? Don't think so." he said to himself.

Just then a low humm filled the air. The hedgehog looked up as a flight of fighters shot over head.

"Hmm! They never learn!" cried the hedgehog.

He suddenly swung the pole round, hooked it into the ground and threw himself into the air. He landed in a tree and sprung backwards, landing on a higher branch. He soon landed on the top branches of the tree and, although they were thin, they still managed to support his weight. He swung the pole around his head and then behind him. He bent his knees and took up a fighting position as the fighters wheeled round at him. As they came towards him he closed his eyes. A large triangular necklace hanging round his neck started to humm. A small streak of energy started to flash across it. The hedgehog slowly and blankly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed to be fixed on mid air as he aimlessly raised his left hand. Suddenly his gaze narrowed on the fighters and he swung his hand down to his right shoulder. As he did the energy on his necklace flashed and a huge rippling field of energy shot from it in all directions. As the fighters touched it there was shimmer and they vanished from view. The hedgehog's face returned to normal and he seemed to relax. He looked at his necklace.

"You are taking longer to charge now. If I use you too much more then I might drain you completely. That wouldn't be good. I need you for later." he said with a sigh, "It looks like I'm on my own for now."

The hedgehog stretched and was about to jump down the tree when there was a 'whoosh" sound and he collapsed, falling from the tree and hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

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T2 slowly left the cover of the Drood Henge ruins and looked up at the sky. Even during the time of Mobotropolis the Great Unknown had been cloudy but now it seemed even more so. During Robotnik's reign the Freedom Fighters had had some hope. Robotnik hadn't been all powerful. He could barely keep control of Robotropolis never mind the whole of Mobius. His reign had been simply a form of survival, but now. T2 looked back at the ground.

"Now it's more like a slow death." he said softly.

"Still sad T2?" said a voice.

T2 slowly turned to see Amy walking towards him. He sighed as she approached but didn't turn away. He had seen her sad before and he felt no embarrassment in her seeing him sad.

"Hello Amy." he answered.

Amy just nodded at him and stopped beside him. T2 sighed.

"You know me too well Amy." he said.

"I do and that's why we are such good friends." she replied, "As you were saying."

T2 couldn't help but smile. Amy always did this to him.

"I don't know. It just seems like before we had a chance of victory. But now, it doesn't even seem like we have that. The Earth Alliance is so strong and it already control virtually the entire planet. Couple this with the fact they can get replacement troops anytime they want. It just seems hopeless."

"Nothing is hopeless T2."

"This sure seems like it."

"T2 do not worry about her. She's ok."

T2 looked over at Amy.

"I know she is alive." he said harshly, "But is she just alive. The very spirit of her stone is gone. I can feel its presence but it's cold, heartless and distant. It's as if all I'm feeling is a carcass. It's tormenting me."

As he spoke, T2's eyes and fists closed tightly. He gulped and struggled to hold back a tear. Amy looked at him. She was worried about Tails and Lavender but she had a feeling they were alright. T2 on the other hand had had the Power Stone link with Petya virtually ever since they met. There love had been growing ever since then and she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have this link severed. She could no longer feel the Time Stones but she knew it wasn't the same.

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Manic sighed heavily as he shifted through some of his stuff. He hadn't been able to recover much from Knotlake before they had fled. After the attack they had all decided that the village was too hot for them to stay there. They had quickly gathered as much stuff as possibly and fled here to Drood Henge. Manic's hut had been completely demolished in the attack but he had been able to recover his board and a few personal items like his medallion and a large photo album. At present the album was empty as the picture had been taken out and stuck to the walls of the small cave he had. Most of the pictures were of Sonia and Manic had spent the first few nights at Drood Henge awake in bed staring at them. Bed? More like a blanket on the ground. He was concerned for his sister but he also knew she was very capable.

"Yo Manic! You in there." came a voice.

"Yeah come on in." replied Manic.

Manic turned to see a red echidna entering the room. It was Knuckles of course. He looked just like he always had but he wasn't. Since the Chaos Emeralds had woken him up a week ago they still hadn't expelled themselves from his body. Knuckles now carried the seven Chaos Emeralds inside himself but still remained normal. They had found out that the chaos energy produced by the emeralds was what was keeping him conscious. During his three years in the Chaos Zone his body, once very sensitive to the chaos energy, had gradually changed so that it needed the energy to survive. Knuckles now carried the Master Emerald everywhere he went.

"Hi Knux." said Manic.

"Manic. Sonic and Sally want us outside in a few minutes. They got another mission planned." replied Knuckles.

"Another?" asked Manic, "How many more failures do they want in a week?"

"At least they don't give up."

"Yeah I suppose so."

"And neither will Sonia."

Manic stopped and turned to look at Knuckles.

"What?" he said.

"Sonic and Sally don't give up and neither will Sonia. She's got a character harder than her muffins and she could take anything this military can throw at her." replied Knuckles with a smile, "Just like Bunnie can. Worry won't get you anywhere. I know I'll see her again."

Manic nodded and smiled.

"You're right." he said getting up from his seat, "Well let's get going then!"

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"Sally?! SALLY?! Where'd you go now?!" cried Sonic.

He got no reply and growled.

"Sally, get your royal butt out here NOW!" he screamed, "We have a meeting in five minutes."

"I don't care!" came a reply.

Sonic only needed this to pinpoint Sally and moments later he was at her side. Sally was sat on the ground with her back to a rock staring at her knees.

"Sally." said Sonic softly.

Sally just sigh and continued to look at her knees. Sonic sighed too. He had found her like this several times since they had fled Knotlake. Sally had been acting strangely for the last week. She was snapping at everything, going off for no reason and bursting into tears on the spur of a moment. Sonic knew what was wrong. She was totally petrified about Miles and Alicia. Sonic was worried about them too but at the moment he was more concerned about Sally.

"Sally we have to go back to Drood Henge." he said.

"Why? What good is going to come of our attacks? We haven't succeeded once." replied Sally looking up.

Her face was totally dry as a bone and not a single tear could be seen in her eye. Sonic knew it was bad now, she couldn't even cry.

"Because we have to keep hoping. We have to try and get Miles and Al…."

"Miles and Alicia are probably DEAD!" cried Sally springing to her feet.

"SALLY! Don't ever say such things!" cried Sonic totally shocked to the core.

"Why not?! It's probably true! How else would they have found out where Knotlake was? They had to find out from someone! And what use would they have for them after they had the information?!"

Sonic grabbed Sally firmly by the shoulders and starred straight at her.

"Sally! They are NOT dead! You hear me! They are NOT DEAD!" he screamed his eyes wavering.

Sally suddenly burst into tears and collapsed on his shoulder. Sonic took a few shuddering breaths as he hugged her and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's ok Sally. I'm here for you." comforted Sonic.

"Oh Sonic! This is even worst that time with the Space Station and T2." whimpered Sally.

"Hush Sal. Just be quiet."

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It was a little while later when Sally had calmed down again that the six friends stood in a circle in the middle of Drood Henge. For a moment none of them spoke. They were all lost in thought, a practice becoming more and more common in recent days. The cold wind of the Great Unknown whistled around the quiet ruins. Sally sighed.

"Something up Sal?" asked Sonic.

"What else?" replied Sally.

"Sally it's not all that bad." encouraged Knuckles.

"Yeah, come on. It'll be alright in the end." stepped in Manic.

T2 just made a grunting sound and Amy remained silent. Sally raised her head and sighed again. She blinked and her expression changed.

"You're right guys. It's just…"

"Sally we know." said Amy, "For now there is nothing we can do. Let's just concentrate on what we can do."

"And on that point." burst in Sonic, "We got something new."

"Really? What?" asked T2.

"This." replied Sonic turning and walking off.

He returned a few seconds later holding a small black box with several shredded wires sticking out of it. The box looked fairly battered and was black because of its charring rather than its colour.

"What's that?" asked Knuckles.

"This, my friends, this is an Earth Alliance communication decoder." said Sonic proudly.

"A WHAT?!" cried Manic.

Sonic smiled broadly and chuckled.

"A decoder for top secret military communication." replied Sally, "Sonic found it during his last mission."

"Well not found Sal. I stole it from a downed fighter, that I took out." put in Sonic.

"Uh huh, sure you did. After I blew its port wing of with a rocket launcher!" laughed Sally.

"Oooh I hate it when you do that." said Sonic running his hand down his face.

The rest of the group laughed. It was the first time most of them had laughed since they had left Knotlake. The general feeling of the group seemed to brighten.

"It's good to hear laughter again." said Amy.

"Yes it is." replied Knuckles with a chuckle.

"Anyway about this decoder." said T2.

"Right." said Sonic, "Well we managed to get it working again after the crash."

"Doesn't look like." said Manic.

"It overloaded a few hours after we switched it on." said Sally with a sigh.

"Well that's good." said Knuckles sarcastically.

"But…" said Sonic slowly, "…we did get something."

"Really?!" asked T2.

"Yes. The decoder was working for a couple of hours and during that time we were able to decode a number of communications. It seems that the Earth Alliance is transferring prisoners to Robotropolis and from there onto Earth." said Sally quickly.

"What?!" cried Amy totally shocked, "W…WHY?!"

"It seems that they are curious about us and want to find out as much as possible." replied Sonic.

Everyone but Sonic and Sally looked totally shocked.

"We have to do something." said T2.

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A gentle moan filled the air and a red hedgehog stirred. Slowly he propped himself up on his arms and rubbed the side of his head.

"Oh my head." he moaned.

"Haha. Why hello." said a voice.

As if his headache had been washed away, the hedgehog was on his feet in a second and glaring at the large figure in front of him. It was then that he noticed that he was in a cell with no way out.

"Who are you?" demanded the hedgehog.

The person cracked his fingers and laughed again.

"You are in no position to make demand but on this occasion I will grant it. My name is Morgan Jake. Commander of Mobius occupational forces." replied the man.

The hedgehog looked him over. Military uniform, human and a way bad aura.

"So you're Morgan then." said the hedgehog with a sneer.

"Yes. And now I finally have you caught. I was surprised when I heard it was only you who was causing me so much trouble. At least the projects at Never Lake can continue now."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Morgan grunted at the hedgehog.

"But I do. And now you are going on a little trip to my world. Once we get you there we will have a fun time with you. And that necklace of yours will prove interesting too."

The hedgehog's face suddenly changed. A flash of rage and fear shot across it.

"You dare even touch the Time Star and I'll KILL YOU!" he screamed.

"So that's what it is. Interesting." replied Morgan.

The hedgehog growled loudly and bared his teeth.

"Oh please." retorted Morgan, "Like you can do anything from in there. Even with your precious Time Star we still captured you."

"You won't get me so easily next time." replied the hedgehog.

"Really. What makes you think you will get out anyway?"

"Oh I have my ways."

The hedgehog turned and walked to the back of his cell. When he turned round Morgan was gone.

-----------------------------------------

Morgan walked into the main control room fuming.

"I will enjoy watching him dissected!" he growled.

"Sir we have a report from the Lake." said a soldier coming up and saluting.

"And?"

"Drilling has resumed and so far nothing has happened sir."

"So it was him then. Interesting. Has any progress been made on that necklace he had?"

"No sir. In fact we are having trouble approaching it. We sent in several drones to scan it and when they got within several feet they vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Yes sir…just like everything else."

"It appears that that necklace has the power to erase things. What did he call it? The Time Star. Yes....keep working. I want all the data possible on it and I want it soon."

"Yes sir."

The soldier saluted and walked off. Morgan turned to the screens.

"Have we been able to track those intruders yet?" he said.

"No sir. We are still searching."

"Well search faster! They took out six fighters and I want them caught!"

"Yes sir we will do our best."

"You'd better." growled Morgan.

-----------------------------------------

"Here Sonia drink this." said Chalk slowly.

Sonia slowly reached out and took hold of the mug Chalk handed her. She slowly took a sip and spluttered. The wound on her side stretched and she screamed. Chalk quickly took the mug from her and laid her down again.

"I've just made things worst again." she muttered to herself.

"No Chalk…ah….you are trying. Thank you." moaned Sonia.

Chalk nodded and made a small affirmative moan. After running from Knotlake, Chalk had carried Sonia for a few miles. They both sat under the shade of a small forest next to a stream. The only sounds were the bubbling of the water, the songs of birds in the trees and the occasional rustle of leaves. Chalk looked down at the mug she had taken from Sonia. Without any of their supplies, Chalk had been forced to make Sonia a drink with spring water and some dried tea leaves she had in a packet in her pocket. To say the least it probably hadn't tasted good. Her gaze wandered to Sonia. The bandages around her side and leg were so covered in blood they were virtually useless. The one round her middle was now getting redder as blood from Sonia's opened would flowed out again. Sonia had her eyes closed and was breathing in slow deep breaths. She put a hand on Sonia's.

"It'll be ok Sonia." she said slowly.

Sonia slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

"Uh huh." she replied taking a few more breaths, "I hope we find them soon."

"Me too Sonia, me too."

"But we don't even know where they are."

"We'll find them. We have to."

"But where would they go?"

"We'll just have to search Sonia. We will check out everywhere we can think of. Let's start with Never Lake. It's no more than a day's walk away."

"But you'd have to carry me there."

"I could carry you and still make it in a day. We'll leave as soon as you are feeling up to it."

"I'm ready now….ah…..one second thoughts lets give it an hour."

"Ok. One hour."

-----------------------------------------

It wasn't a normal thing for Amy to be carrying but then again she had become used to it in recent days. Mounted on her shoulder was a portable multi launch explosive rocket launcher. They had managed to steal this nice piece of hardware from a military transport that they had found. The shuttle had been abandoned but everything was still in it. Both Sally and Amy had taken a liking to this huge piece of weaponry. The others had been surprised at their choice but it had proved useful. Currently the six friends stood on a small rise a short distance from Robotropolis. Sally was looking through a set of binoculars at the city.

"Looks like the security is as tight as ever." she said.

"Tell us something we don't know." said Knuckles.

"But we have to get in. We can't let them take anyone off world. We'd never get them back." replied Amy.

"I know Aimes." answered Sonic, "We just have to get in long enough to bust everyone out."

"Easier said than done Sonic." said T2.

"Yeah but we have to try." said Sally, "Remember Amy, when we give the signal…"

"Let rip. I know the plan." interrupted Amy.

"Good lets go." ordered Sonic.

-----------------------------------------

It was a while later and Amy sat against a rock staring at the city. As she looked at the city she started to feel an odd feeling in her mind. It almost freaked her out. A sudden drowsy feeling swept over her and before she could stop herself she fell asleep. She felt herself falling. Why was this so familiar? This had happened before. Amy slowly relaxed. A moment later there was a blur and she was standing in a flower filled meadow. Amy looked around. She knew she had been here before now. She was in her mind again. It was here that she had met her parents for the first time. She glanced over to look at the part of the field her parents had been standing in. Maybe they were there again? They weren't but in their place stood a red hedgehog. As she watched, he slowly turned and walked towards her. He stopped a few feet away. There was something about this hedgehog, something different. The hedgehog bowed at her and then spoke.

"Greetings." he said.

"Hello." said Amy a bit unsure, "What's going on?"

"I know that you know this place."

"Yes I've been here before. But what are you doing in my mind?"

"I cannot explain here. It takes effort to even speak but I will say this. I need your help."

"Why?"

"I don't have time. I can feel it slipping away. Please help me. Please."

Amy watched in partial horror as the hedgehog slowly disappeared before her eyes. As he did she felt herself going up until…

Amy sat up sharply. She was back on the hill above Robotropolis. She glanced around to see that everything was just as it had been before. But something was different. Something was nagging at her mind. She quickly stood up, grabbing the rocket launcher as she went, and ran down the hill towards the city.

-----------------------------------------

"Hold up Sonic." said Sally grabbing his arm.

"What is it Sal?" he asked.

"Motion sensors. Scan please Nicole, lowest possible energy levels." replied Sally.

Nicole, Sally's hand held computer, made a few beeps. Nicole had never really been used much in the past but Sally had found her invaluable in the last week.

"Scan complete Sally." stated Nicole, "Motion sensors confirmed. Radius twenty one point six meters."

"Drat!" cursed Sally quietly under her breath, "We'll have to go round."

"But Sal! This is the only way in! We have to go this way." said Sonic.

"Sally right Sonic. We have to find another way round." said T2.

"Look you guys. I know this area well. This is the ONLY way in. I know it." insisted Sonic.

"So what do you propose?" asked Manic.

"I'm going in. Sal hand me that power shorter." said Sonic.

Sally slowly handed him a long pole like object.

"Be really careful Sonic. If those sensors detect you might not be able to get out." she said.

"Hey if I set them off call in plan B." he replied.

"Be careful." said T2.

Sonic just winked. He gripped the bar in his hand and took off around the corner. A huge metal door stood in front of him. As he approached it he noticed two small orbs stuck on a wall above the door. The sensors! He raised the bar, pressed a button on it and threw it towards the door. The sensors saw it and him and started to glow. There was a small whine and suddenly the bar suddenly erupted into life. A huge pulse of energy shot from it creating a static field that swamped both sensors. They crackled and exploded as the electronic door lock shattered and the door slid open. Sonic screeched to a halt and seconds later the rest of the group was at his side. Sonic surveyed his work.

"Not bad." he said.

"A bit slow. A couple of seconds later and those sensors would have set of every alarm and defense system in the city." said Sally.

"Hey so I'm getting a bit slow in my old age." protested Sonic.

"A bit?" asked Knuckles.

"Can it knuckle head." replied Sonic flatly.

"Ok everyone lets move. We got to get to those prisoners." said T2 leaping off into the open doorway.

-----------------------------------------

Amy raised the rocket launcher and fired. As the trigger depressed several bright sparks erupted from the rear of the launcher. A millisecond later two streaks of jet smoke were shooting away from her as two of the four rockets in the launcher shot towards their target. They hit the wall they had been fired at and blew a huge hole in it. Amy swung the launcher into a position where she could carry it and charged through the hole. She had just entered the main control building in Robotropolis. The feeling in her head had drawn her here. Alarms were going off all over now but she didn't care. She was almost there. She was almost at the centre point of the feeling. A metal door barred her way but another shot from the launcher turned it into a pile of smoking metal. Only one shot remained in the launcher now but Amy didn't seem to care. Amy raced through the door and stopped. She was in a small room with a fairly high ceiling. The room was pretty bare and looked more like a store room. It was then that she noticed the cells in the room. There weren't many of them but each cell had more defense measure than anything she had seen. Electric bars, force fields, cameras and various other security measures covered the three cells in the room. As Amy entered she could see the first two cells were empty. As she neared the last cell the feeling began to throb in her head. She slowly turned to look into the cell. Sitting on the floor was a red hedgehog.

"I was afraid you weren't going to come." he said standing up.

"Who are you?" asked Amy.

"Right now that is not important. They are coming."

Just then Amy heard voices down the corridor and the patter of boots on metal. She panicked.

"What do we do?! I can't get you out of there! What do we do?!" she cried.

"Hush child. All is in hand." replied the hedgehog.

Just then the hedgehog raised his hands and they glowed. He waved them in front of himself and a small field of energy rippled from them. As the field touched the electric bars fizzled and collapsed. Amy looked shocked.

"How?" she said.

"No time to explain. I need to get the Time Star back. Does that have anything left in it?" said the hedgehog pointing at the rocket launcher.

"Y…yes but…"

"No buts! Aim….THERE!" said the hedgehog pointing at a spot on the wall.

Amy didn't argue. She scooped the launcher up off the floor and spun at the wall. A white streak shot from it and seconds later the far wall exploded in a massive explosion. They both coughed slightly before the hedgehog grabbed Amy by the arm and pulled her through the hole. On the far side was another room filled with various pieces of scientific equipment. Several people in white lab coats lay around the floor, obviously knocked out by the explosion. On a bench top sat a small glowing triangular necklace and next to it laid a long double bladed staff. The hedgehog rushed over to them and quickly grabbed them. Fastening the necklace round his neck, he used the staff to catapult himself over Amy and into the large squad of men who had run into the room through the hole in the wall. Amy was totally stunned as she quickly took cover behind a bench.

-----------------------------------------

The small group slowly made their way along a corridor. So far they had encountered hardly any resistance apart from a few security cameras and sensors. It was stating to make Sally nervous. Surely they would have noticed them break in? What was going on? It all seemed….

"Too easy." said T2 slowly.

"You read my mind T2." replied Sally.

"It is a bit." put in Sonic.

"I have a funny feeling about this." said Knuckles almost to himself.

"Hey guys lighten up. Maybe we are just too good?" laughed Manic quietly.

"Possibly." replied Sally, "But I don't like it."

"Shh!" hissed T2.

Everyone shut up. They had stopped by a large metal door which T2 was now pressed firmly against listening. Everyone else waited.

"I can't hear anything on the other side." he said finally.

"Then it's safe to go in." said Manic.

"Not totally, remember the security measure." said Sally.

"Yeah Manic. Be a little more careful." agreed Sonic, "Knux if you would."

"My pleasure." replied the echidna.

Knuckles strode forwards and effortlessly drove his claws into the door. With a sharp tug he pulled the door upwards, breaking the lock as he did. He pulled his claws out and slowly raised the door a bit more. Sonic and T2 looked under the door.

"Looks clear." said T2.

"Got it." replied Knuckles as he pulled the door fully upwards and jammed it open.

The group walked out into the room slowly. They had to walk down a small corridor before the room opened up before them. They all stopped dead. They had made it! The room they were in was the cell block and filling the cells were at least a hundred Mobian citizens. As the group entered a number of them noticed.

"Oh my god!" cried a wolf.

"For lord sake get us out of here!" screamed a fox.

Soon the air was filled with a multitude of cries for help. The group didn't move.

"How are we going to get all of these people out of here?!" asked Sally spinning to Sonic.

"I have no idea Sal." replied Sonic.

"Simple." said Manic walking over to the nearest cell, "We just pull the levers!"

"Manic wait a second!" cried T2.

As T2 spoke Manic made a grab for the nearest cells release. As he did it gave a shimmer and his hand passed straight through it.

"Huh?!" he said.

Just them the cries of the prisoners stopped and the whole room shimmered. Suddenly there was a flash and the whole room faded from view to reveal a ring of soldiers around them. The group was so stunned they couldn't move. Even if they had moved it wouldn't have accomplished anything as two huge metal doors slammed shut over the entrance they had come in from.

"Ok freeze!" cried on of the soldiers.

"Not a chance!" screamed T2 as he raised his hand.

The power stone gave a bright pulse and a large ball of energy started to form around it. Suddenly a whine filled the air and the ball of energy in T2's hand turned black. The ball shattered and T2 was suddenly enveloped in a black light. He howled in agony as he collapsed to the floor. The others starred at T2 in horror and then glanced around again.

"Hands up….NOW!" said the soldier.

Slowly the rest of the group raised there hands.

"Sonic, plan B." whispered Sally.

"Right Sal." replied Sonic as he pressed a small button on his wrist comm whilst raising his hands.

"Inform the commander that we now have them in custody." said the same soldier again, "And you lot move it."

He motioned with his gun for them to move. Slowly the group moved off as two guards picked up T2.

-----------------------------------------

Amy slowly ducked out from behind her hiding place to see the room in chaos. Charred remains of various pieces of equipment lay around and laser blasts marked the walls. In the middle of the room stood the hedgehog surrounded by squad of guard that had entered the room. All the guards were out cold. The hedgehog turned and walked over to Amy.

"Come on we have to get out of here. More will be coming." he said taking Amy hand.

He started to pull but Amy resisted, pulling her hand away. The hedgehog turned and looked at her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who you are." she said.

"I see you have not let your personality fade like your powers."

"What do you mean?! Who are you?!"

The hedgehog sighed.

"Very well, I will tell you. I am your…"

Just then a small bleeping filled the room. The hedgehog was alert in a second as he held his staff out in front of himself. Amy looked at her wrist.

"It's ok. It's just my comm unit." she said looking at her wrist.

Moments later her face went white and she gasped.

"Oh no!" she said.

"What?" asked the hedgehog.

"My friends have been capture! They are calling for me!" said Amy glancing at the empty rocket launcher on the floor.

Her eyes went wide and she clenched her fists.

"It's empty! There's no way I can do anything now!" she said slightly panicked.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." replied the hedgehog.

"Why?!" cried Amy.

"I might be able to help. Step closer."

Nervously Amy stepped slightly closer to the strange hedgehog. The necklace round his neck suddenly started to glow. Amy made a move to step back but the hedgehog caught hold of her.

"No don't move." he said quickly, "You might get hurt. Relax."

"What do you meaaaaaargh!" said Amy as the necklace gave a final pulse.

The pair was suddenly enveloped in a huge swirling tunnel of light that went upwards towards the ceiling. The tunnel contracted together and trailed off leaving no trace of Amy or the hedgehog.

-----------------------------------------

Morgan feelings were somewhat mixed. For one he knew that somehow the hedgehog they had captured at Never Lake had escaped. How no-one knew, he seemed to have just disappeared. However on the other hand he had got himself some new prisoners now. At the moment he stood outside a large cell containing the five trespassers. Maybe it wasn't too bad.

"I knew that false information would bring you here." he said.

Knuckles growled at him.

"So this was all a setup eh!" he said.

"Yes. We knew that the decoder from the fighter was still active. They are all linked together via a central computer so we could track it easily. Circulating that information was bound to make you panic. It did by the look of things."

"You'll never get away with this!" cried Sonic.

"I very much think I will." replied Morgan looking over at Sally.

Sally was running her hand through T2's hair. He was still out cold on the floor. Sally looked up at Morgan and narrowed her eyes.

"What have you done to him?!" she asked coldly.

"Nothing much. He will not be harmed, that's the last thing I would want. I now have both sides of the coin you see." replied Morgan.

Sonic suddenly spun and starred at Sonic.

"So you do have Petya!" he cried as his rage built, "I ought to knock you out right now!"

"You wouldn't get near me. And yes I do your highness."

Everyone suddenly looked at Morgan in shock.

"Yes I know who you are. Your children have been very co-operative." continued Morgan.

"DAAAAARH!" cried Sally as she spun from T2 and flung herself at the bars.

It was a futile attack as Morgan was well out of range. She fell short, slid down the bars and started to cry. Sonic knelt down beside her and put and arm around her shoulder. Sally buried deep into his shoulder and started to sob.

"You'll never get away with this!" cried Manic snarling at Morgan.

"Oh and I suppose some power is going to stop me?" retorted Morgan with a laugh.

"Correct!" came a voice.

Suddenly there was a flash in the middle of the room and a huge tunnel of light erupted into life. All the guards nearby were flung to the sides as the tunnel disappeared to reveal Amy and a red hedgehog. The hedgehog raised a staff in front of him and spoke.

"I think you know me, yes?" he said.

"You!" cried Morgan, "Open fire!"

Morgan's call was too late as the hedgehog sprung forwards and swung his staff in a huge arc. The staff, which was about two meters long, made contact with virtually all the guards and knocked them out. As the remaining few opened fire, Morgan started to back away and Amy ran to the bars.

"We're busting you out of here." she said with a smile.

The group wasn't listening to her though. They were all glued on the hedgehog who was effortlessly dodging attacks and knocking out more soldiers. Amy was frantically trying to break the cells lock but to no avail.

"I can't break the lock!" she cried.

"Here take this." shouted the hedgehog as he spun his staff and let go off it.

The staff sailed across the room and to Amy's surprise she caught it. She looked at the staff for a moment and then back at the hedgehog.

"I don't know what to do with this!" she cried.

"Yes you do! Hurry I can't keep these guys occupied forever!" he called back.

Amy looked at the staff and then at the bars. As she did she gripped the staff harder. Without thinking she swung the staff downwards in a diagonal cut, swung the other end round and repeated the same slice in the other direction forming a large X on the bars. There was a moments silence and the cut bars fell away forming two large triangular holes in the bars. Amy looked stunned for a moment but quickly shrugged it off as the laser fire, previously aimed at the dodging hedgehog, turned towards them. Amy flattened herself to the deck as the others scrambled out of the cell. There were only about five guards left in the room now but the laser fire from them was substantial. As Sally cleared the cell she looked back to see T2 still out on the floor. Without a thought she dived back into the cell and grabbed him. As she grabbed him a crippling pain shot down her back. She screamed loudly as she fell over on top of T2, a large laser shot mark on her back.

"SALLY!" cried Sonic as she saw Sally fall.

Amy was totally distraught. That didn't just happen! It couldn't happen! She wouldn't allow it! She sprung to her feet and ran towards the guard. Why was she doing this? What would it accomplish? What would…she stopped her thoughts. They weren't important. As she neared the guards from the side she raised her right hand behind her head. As she did she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. A shimmer crossed her mind and is it did she felt a presence in her raised hand. As she got within a few feet of the first guard she swung her hand down. A flurry of energy passed over her as a bright red and yellow mallet made contact with the guards head. A new sense of understanding filled her and she spun, taking out the next guard, and then jumped into the air. The remaining three guards had noticed her now but so had the hedgehog. With a clean swipe of his recovered staff the hedgehog struck all three of the remaining guards and knocked them out. They looked at each other for a second and Amy blinked. Just then the feeling in her hand fell away. She looked down to see the mallet in her hand fading from view. She would have questioned it more but something was far more pressing now. She glanced around the room. All the guards were still out for the count but she couldn't see Morgan anywhere. She looked back at the cell to see Sonic and Manic pulling the limp form of Sally out of the cell. Amy's heart sunk as she raced over. Knuckles was carrying T2 out of the cell with a sad look on his face. When she arrived Sonic was weeping over Sally. Amy knelt down next to him.

"Sally?" she said slowly.

Slowly Sally's eyes opened. She looked at Sonic and then at Amy. She started to speak but it was labored and barely auditable.

"Ah….A…Amy….thank….you for….coming  to…..rescue…us." she wheezed.

"Sally!" cried Sonic sadly.

Sally looked at him her eyes closing slightly.

"Sonic…don't…be sad. Find our…children….find them."

"Sally no!" cried Sonic as Sally's eyes shut completely, "No Sally! SALLY WAKE UP! SALLY!"

Sonic suddenly collapsed over on top of Sally and started to sob quietly. As he did a steady crackle filled the air.

"Hahaha. Do not worry your highness. You will join her shortly." came Morgan's voice over the tanoy system.

Everyone looked up at the speaker. Just then several holes opened in the ceiling and a number of large laser guns lowered from them. Seconds later they armed and aimed at the group.

"As you see I have the final move here. I was going to just keep you prisoner, but now you will just die!"

The guns suddenly started to charge, a ball of energy forming on their tip. The red hedgehog suddenly stood up and his necklace glowed.

"Like hell you have the final move! By the power of the Acolytes I will not allow you to win!" he screamed.

Amy stared at him.

"The….Acolytes!" she said to herself.

The charge on the guns continued to build the point now glowing deep red. At the same time the necklace round the hedgehog's neck glowed brighter. Both items continued to build, a large vortex of light springing up around the group.

"The Acolytes will NEVER DIE!" screamed the hedgehog as the necklace finished its charge.

The light vortex around them flashed just as the guns opened fire. The vortex flashed just as the area erupted into a huge fireball.

-----------------------------------------

On a rise far outside of Robotropolis a huge white flash filled the air. A huge tunnel of light hit the ground and faded away. There stood a small group of figures. They all took a moment to register where they were.

"What the?!" cried Manic.

"What just happened?" asked Knuckles.

The red hedgehog turned and looked at Sonic still slumped over Sally and then at T2.

"First thing is first. Stand back your majesty." he said.

Sonic looked up as the hedgehogs hands started to glow. Two balls of white light formed in his hands. Suddenly he flung one hand upwards, throwing the energy ball upwards. As it came back down he swung his hand round, hitting the ball. The energy stopped, flashed, formed into a beam and shot towards Sally. As the streak hit her, she suddenly gasped deeply and her eyes flew open. Sonic was so shocked he sat for a moment completely still before throwing his arms around Sally.

"My god Sally! I thought you were dead!" he cried.

"One more to go." said the hedgehog as he threw another streak at T2.

The twin tailed fox suddenly sprang to his feet as the Power Stone erupted into a bright yellow glow.

"What the hell is going on!" he said.

"His gaze fixed on the red hedgehog and he looked puzzled.

"Who are you?" he asked slowly.

"Good question T2." said Manic.

The five of them all looked at the hedgehog. He didn't speak, he just stood and smiled.


	3. Capture And Release

Chapter 3 – Capture And Release

Amy couldn't sleep. It was a little over an hour after they had made it back to Drood Henge but already the sun had dipped below the horizon. However for Amy time was forefront on her mind. She sat up and looked around. The usual bare rock greeted her. How she wished she was back on Little Planet in her home. Tails and Lavender would be by her side as she lay in her garden surround by flowers with the sun beaming down on her. The thought made her sigh out loud. It was then that a cold wind whistled into the cave and swept around her. She shivered and wrapped the blanket she had around her. Night in the Great Unknown was unforgiving. She couldn't stop thinking about that hedgehog. He had come back with them but ever since he had arrived he had just sat in silence. He hadn't acknowledged anyone, not even T2 and Sally when they had said thank you. Everyone was now concerned and suspicious of him. Amy, however, was interested in him. He had mentioned the Acolytes. Was he a descendant of them too? She didn't know. Her parents had always told her that she was the only one. Maybe they hadn't known. One thing was for certain, she had to find out. She had to find out right now. Maybe he would be more talkative now than before? Slowly Amy stood up. She was already wearing her clothes but she wrapped her blanket around herself for extra warmth and walked out of the cave. The full force of the wind hit her and she almost fell over. She walked out into the centre of Drood Henge. At first she didn't see anything but then she saw a red quill sticking up from behind a rock. She was surprised he was still outside in this cold. As she approached the hedgehog seemed to stir.

"I know you're there Amy." he said.

"Why are you out here?" she asked.

"No-one has asked me inside."

Amy gasped and put her hand to her mouth. It was true, no-one had asked him inside.

"I'm so sorry!" she said.

"It's of little matter. I don't go where I'm not asked unless circumstances change." he replied.

"Well I'm asking you to come inside. You'll get ill sitting out here."

"Very well."

Amy led the hedgehog inside and managed to find a spare blanket for him. The night was deepening now but the cave offered more protection than being outside. They sat down together at the back of the cave. For a few minutes they sat in silence before Amy spoke.

"Um there's something I wanted to ask you. Well a lot of things I wanted to ask you." she said.

"I had a feeling you might. You want to know about me don't you? Who I am? Where I'm from? Correct?" he replied.

"Well yes." said Amy slightly embarrassed, "And about what you said before we escaped. About the…"

"…the Acolytes?"

"Yes."

"Ok I will tell you what I know about myself."

"What you know?"

The hedgehog sighed and looked at Amy. He nodded and smiled.

"My name is Nenya. I am a descendant of the Acolyte civilization on Little Planet."

"Really?" said Amy too shocked to say much else, "I thought I was the only one."

"No not the only one. But there are no more outside our family."

"Wha…what?"

"That is the other thing I needed to tell you. You are my sister."

"Your sister?!"

Amy leaped to her feet and starred at Nenya. Had she heard that correctly? Of course she had, there wasn't anything wrong with her hearing!

"But how?! My parents never mentioned a brother!" she said quickly.

"They wouldn't have, they probably didn't want to upset you. But it is true." he replied.

"Then what happened? If you are my brother where have you been?!"

"I will explain to you. You know that far in the distant past Little Planet was stable. Hanging in the sky over Never Lake it actually had a permanent physical form."

"Until Sarath disrupted the Time Stones." said Amy.

"So you know about him good. That will make it easier to explain. Do you know what made Little Planet stable?"

"I had always assumed that it was the Acolytes looking after the Stones."

"Yes in part that is true but it is not the whole story. The Time Stones needed something to bond them together. Something strong enough to bind them together through the endless depths of time. The only thing that was strong enough to resist this force was the essence of a living Acolyte."

"What do you mean?"

"During the time of the Acolytes the way of life was very simple and the way a ruler was chosen was even simpler. Every family on Little Planet was only allowed one child be custom. The Time Stones needed an essence to stabilize them. This is what happened. Every generation, a new born child would mysteriously go missing and no trace of him or her was ever found. Do you know what happened?"

"The Time Stones." said Amy as it finally dawned on her.

"Yes. The Stones absorbed the essence of a new born every generation to serve as their anchor in time. This child would grow up inside the Stones and see everything that went on. The parent of this child would then become the next rulers of Little Planet until the time when another child disappeared. Then they would step down and let the new rulers take over."

"What has this got to do with….wait."

Amy stopped and looked at Nenya.

"You?" she said slowly.

"Yes. After the Acolytes were killed the essence in the Time Stones slowly faded away until the entire planet destabilized and vanished. The Time Stones still had a small anchor but not enough to hold them entirely. When I was born the Time Stones instantly recognized me as an Acolyte and drew me in. I cannot imagine how distraught Patrick and Marian were when it happened. It was a further five years before you were born. Since then I have watched you and tried to help when I could."

"Really?" asked Amy.

"Yes. How is it that you managed to find out about your Acolyte skills so easily and quickly. I was helping. I concentrated the energies of the Time Stones on you to try and help you remember. Once you did I helped you as best I could."

Amy stood for a moment in silence. This was too much.

"But if you were taken by the Stones why are you here?" she asked.

"I was waiting for that question. I have been released to perform one important task. Amy, sister, I have been sent back to help bring Little Planet back."

"WHAT?!"

Amy staggered backwards and almost fell over. Her hands went to her chest and mouth and she took a number of deep breaths.

"Bring Little Planet back?!" she cried, "How?!"

"There is a way but I need your help to do it." replied Nenya.

"But what can I do. I've lost all my powers."

"Not lost, just buried."

"What do you mean buried?"

"If you had lost them you would not have been able to summon your mallet earlier today."

Amy blinked. She went to speak but nothing came out. She just stood there staring at Nenya. Nenya got up and walked over to her. He put an arm around her shoulders and smiled. To Amy's surprise she didn't feel the need to recoil. In fact she welcomed him doing this.

"Thank you." she said.

"No need to thank me." said Nenya.

He slowly released her and looked at her directly.

"Will you help me?" he asked again.

"I don't know. What can I do?" she asked.

"You can do anything you set your mind to. Remember how you used to be."

Amy thought back to her time in Mobotropolis. Her sense of duty had been strong then and so had her determination. Had these things faded since three years ago? Since she had been robotisised?

"But what about my powers?" she asked, "What good can I do as an Acolyte without them?"

"You do not need your powers to be an Acolyte. The Acolyte spirit is in here." replied Nenya, tapping his fist on his chest, "Do not worry. You will know what you can do when the time comes."

"I don't understand."

"Sister." said Nenya slowly placing his hand on her shoulder again, "Do not worry about it. Your powers are not gone as I said before."

"Then where are they? If I still have them why can't I use them?! I need them now more than ever!"

"They are dormant. When you were….changed…..your powers imbedded themselves deep in your subconscious. They are probably waiting for an appropriate time to resurface."

"And now isn't that time?! Why didn't they resurface a week ago when Charles was……when he was killed?! Why didn't they come back and help me save him?! Was that not an appropriate time?"

"I am not sure. Obviously your powers thought it wasn't. But today they finally showed themselves again. Have strength Amy, they are there."

Amy was feeling worst by the second. The memory of Charles had stirred up emotion of a week ago and she started to feel sad again. Coupled with more recent events it was too much. She sat down and started to sob quietly.

"Why is this happening to me? My powers, my family, my friends, my home….everything is gone." she whimpered softly.

Nenya slowly sat down beside her. He had no answers for her so he remained quiet. Amy turned and threw both of her arms around his neck. She pulled herself into his shoulder and continued to sob.

"Oh Nenya, why is this happening to me?" she asked.

_Hush child do not worry._

Amy was alert in a second and sat up sharply. She gasped at the sight. All around her was dark but the ground appeared to be firm. She spun but saw nothing at all around her. Just then seven spot of light appeared around her. She watched as they slowly closed in around her.

"What are you?" she asked.

"Do you not remember us?" said a voice as one of the spots moved closer to her.

Amy slowly reached out her hand and tried to touch the spot. Her hand, however, passed straight through it.

"We are not really here. We are not in this world. We need you help. Please trust in Nenya…he is worthy of that at the very least."

Amy watched as the blackness dissolved around her. The next thing she knew she was pulling away from Nenya's shoulder staring at the necklace he wore. It was glowing slight but fading away as she watched. Nenya was looking at her as she looked up.

"They spoke to me." she said slowly.

"I know. They do that to me too." he replied.

"How?"

"The Time Stones still exist, just not in this world. They use this to cross the time plane." said Nenya tapping his necklace, "The Time Star is incredible."

"Where did it come from?"

"I am not sure. I had it when I woke up by Never Lake. But you must decide quickly, will you help me?"

Amy looked at Nenya once more. _Please trust in Nenya…he is worthy of that at the very least._

"Alright I will help you." she said finally, "I will help."

-----------------------------------------

Chalk groaned as she slumped to the ground in a heap. She had been carrying Sonia since they had left the forest the previous day. While Sonia had slept in her arms, Chalk had been marching across country. They were now only a short distance from Never Lake but Chalk couldn't go on. Sonia was in a bad way too. Her wounds were deeper than Chalk had first thought and the blood she had lost was now making her light headed and dizzy. Most of the time now she couldn't speak. Chalk was now on her knees breathing softly. She was nearly falling asleep but forced her eyes open.

"No Chalk don't you fall asleep now." she said with a groan, "Sonia? Sonia you ok?"

Chalk looked over at Sonia. She lay on her back next to Chalk with her eyes closed. As Chalk spoke she slowly blinked and turned her head slightly.

"Chalk." she said in a slow moaning voice.

"It's ok Sonia. I'm going to go and check Never Lake to see if I can find them."

"But….tired." mumbles Sonia.

"I know I'm tired Sonia but you are much more important than my sleep. I won't be long."

Chalk got up and made sure Sonia was comfortable before she started on her way. Crossing a small stream, she climbed a bank and started to make her way towards Never Lake. There still had to be about half a mile to go and Chalk was already exhausted. As she walked she started to doze off. Her eyes started to flutter and she yawned. Just then her foot found a rut in the ground and seconds later she was rolling head over heels down a grassy bank. She hit the bottom with a thud and with a groan looked up. Blowing her hair out of her eyes she looked around. She almost screamed. Standing around her were a number of men in military uniform all pointing laser rifles at her. 

"Oh crap." she said quietly.

"Get her!" yelled one man.

Before Chalk could react several men had grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to her feet. She started to thrash about trying to break free but their hold was tight.

"Lemme go dammit! Lemme go!" she cried.

"Not a chance." said a soldier, "Take her to holding and inform central command."

"Yes sir." replied the four soldiers holding her.

As Chalk was carried off she heard the soldiers next command.

"Send out a squad to scout the area. There might be more of them."

"Oh god…Sonia." whispered Chalk to herself.

-----------------------------------------

With a groan Knuckles picked himself up off the floor. He dusted himself off and looked back at his 'bed'. A small stone section cut into the rock with a blanket on it. For the forth night in a row he had managed to roll off it and land on the floor. He rubbed his head.

"If we don't find a better place to stay soon this bed is gonna be the death of me never mind the Earth Alliance."

"Knuckles you awake?" called Sally into the cave.

"Yeah. Be out in a second." replied Knuckles.

Knuckles stretch and held it for a moment before releasing and walking out of the cave. Outside the weather was grey as always. Sally stood with her back turned talking to Manic.

"Yo Sally!" called Knuckles as he walked towards her.

Sally turned and Knuckles could instantly see that she was concerned.

"Sally?" he asked, "Something up?"

Sally nodded slowly, looking off to one side.

"It might just be me worry but I can't find Amy or that red hedgehog from yesterday anywhere." she said.

"Really? Hmm."

"I've already sent out Sonic to see if he can see them."

"It is a bit odd." said Manic, "And we don't even know who that hedgehog was. He could have been a spy or something."

"I doubt it." said Knuckles, "The way he acted yesterday would go against that."

"Possibly Knuckles but I'm still worried." replied Sally.

"Any sign of them leaving?" asked Knuckles.

"Not that I can see." answered Sally.

"I'm gonna take a look round. I can't see Amy just leaving." said Knuckles turning away.

"Neither can I." said Manic.

Knuckles walked away from the group pondering. Why would Amy just disappear along with that hedgehog? Amy wouldn't leave by her own free will without telling them! Did that hedgehog force her? If he had why? And why didn't they hear? He made his way round Drood Henge to Amy's cave. He entered to find little. None of them had any kind of personal possession and the cave contained no more than a blanket and a few bits of paper. Knuckles took a quick look around the cave. He figures Sally had probably already done this but he wanted to double check. It didn't take long to check the cave again and Knuckles walked out finding nothing of interest. He walked back to Sally and Manic.

"Find anything?" asked Sally anxiously.

"Not a scrap." replied Knuckles, "It's like they've disappeared."

"I know what you mean." cried a voice.

They all looked up as a blue blur shot into view and came to rest nearby.

"I've checked out the whole area around Drood Henge and can't find them anywhere." said Sonic quickly.

Sally looked annoyed as she clenched her fists.

"Just what is going on?!" she cried, "Where have they gone?!"

"I don't know Sal but I picked up some other news while I was out."

"What?"

"Looks like the Alliance had a small tiff at somewhere we know well." replied Sonic.

"Where?" asked Knuckles.

"Knotlake." replied Sonic.

"Knotlake!" cried Sally, "Why did they have a battle there? What's going on?!"

"Dunno but I have a feeling it might be some of our friends." answered Sonic.

"You mean…" started Knuckles.

"…maybe Amy heard and went there?" said Sally quickly.

"Possibly." put in Manic, "But if she did, why didn't she wait for us?"

"Good point Manic." said Sonic, "But as far as I'm concerned it's a good lead."

"That's true Sonic." said Sally, "Knuckles, Manic, you two stay here. Sonic and I will check it out and report back."

"Be careful you guys. Knotlake is a very hot spot now." said Manic.

"We will Manic. Come on Sal lets motor." said Sonic.

Sally nodded to Sonic and held out her hand. Sonic took hold of it and swung her up into his arms. Shooting a glance at Knuckles and Manic, he spun and shot off into the wastelands of the Great Unknown.

-----------------------------------------

Amy wasn't paying anything much attention. She walked along side Nenya mulling thought through her head. The pair had left Drood Henge about an hour before sunrise ands certainly a good few hours before anyone had gotten up. Amy still felt a little back for leaving without telling anyone but she figured that if she had told anyone they would have wanted to help and she didn't want that. She somehow knew that this was something only her and Nenya could do. She looked over at Nenya. Could he really be her brother? She did feel different around him. Was this a reaction to having another Acolyte around? She shook her head, Nenya saw.

"Something troubling you?" he asked.

"I'm just trying to work things out." replied Amy looking straight ahead.

"I can understand. It mustn't be easy to accept."

"Too right."

"But I have not lied to you. You know that don't you?"

"Yes. I know you have not lied but still…."

"Hush. All will become clear in time."

"I hope so."

The pair fell silent again and continued to walk. Amy strangely felt highly energies, as if she could keep going for ever. She brushed a hand through her long quills and sighed.

-----------------------------------------

Sonic and Sally skidded to a halt at the edge of Knotlake village. For a few minutes they stood remembering past events and memories. Sally sniffed and wiped away a tear.

"It's so sad." she said.

"I know Sal. Our life never seems to go easily. Everything we build is destroyed one way or another."

"Not only our things. But our friends and family too."

Sonic put an arm around Sally shoulder. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Sonic." she said.

"Sally." replied Sonic, "I know things look grim but remember this. Miles and Alicia are alive. Morgan said so himself didn't he. One day we'll rescue them."

"I know we will but I'm still scared for them."

"We both are Sal but for now we have to find out who was here."

"You're right Sonic." said Sally pulling away from Sonic, "Let's get started."

The pair walked into the ruins of Knotlake. The village was still and not a single sound rustled on the wind. At last they came to the cliff face over hanging the village.

"Sonic look." said Sally pointing.

"I see it Sally." replied Sonic.

In the cliffside a small originally hidden door now lay on the ground revealing a room inside the cliff. The pair stepped through to find themselves in the village defense centre. Sally walked over to a console and took out Nicole.

"Someone was in here Sonic. This console has been activated." she said, "Nicole upload to defense computer and download last recorded data command."

"Working." replied Nicole.

"I wonder who was here." said Sonic.

"User data acquired Sally." informed Nicole.

"Display please Nicole."

A small hologram lit up showing a list of figures. Sally gasped.

"User CH01. That's Chalk's login command!" she said.

"Chalk! Chalk was here?! How long ago?!" asked Sonic staring at the hologram.

"By the look of it….yesterday." replied Sally.

"Then she can't be far." said Sonic, "I wonder if they left any clues about where they went."

"Possibly. We should continue to search."

Sonic nodded and they left the room together. It didn't take long to find the next clue.

"SONIC!" cried Sally suddenly.

Before Sally had finished calling his name Sonic was at her side. Sally was staring at two rucksacks lying on the ground. Next to them lay a large gun.

"That's definitely Chalks." said Sonic.

"Yes. And these looks like the girls rucksacks too." said Sally.

"But if they are why would they just leave them? They don't look like they have been touch in a while."

"Something must have happened." said Sally kneeling down to look at Chalk's gun, "This thing is completely empty. There was definitely a battle here."

"We need to find more clues."

"Sure do."

It didn't take the long to find the last clue they found. They both stared at the sight. Amongst the ruins of one of the villages wooden huts lay several pieces of wooden beam covered in blood. Nervously Sally knelt down and took a small plate out of the side of Nicole. She gently dapped the plate on the blood and inserted it back into Nicole.

"Nicole….scan…..scan sample please." said Sally nervously.

The pair waited for Nicole to respond.

"Scan complete Sally." said Nicole.

"Yes." asked Sally.

"Current blood sample matches that of Sonia Hedgehog."

"Sonia!" cried Sonic spinning to Sally.

Sally was at a lost for words. She blinked and shot a glance back at the packs they had found earlier.

"Sonic…they must have been attacked and fled. Sonia must have been injured and they fled leaving their gear behind. What else could have happened?" she stuttered.

"I don't know Sal but here's the question. Are they coming back? Why did they leave their packs and not come back? Where are they?" said Sonic.

"I don't know Sonic. It's all too much."

Sonic could see it was. Sally was now shaking slightly and taking deep breaths. He quickly raised his wrist and flipped on his comm unit.

"Knuckles, Manic, you read?" he said quickly.

There was a pause and then a voice answered.

"Knuckles here Sonic. What's up?" replied Knuckles.

"Lots, Sally and myself are in Knotlake now. There was definitely a fight. And what's more Chalk and Sonia were in it."

"Chalk and Sonia! How'd they…"

The other end of the comm suddenly went dead for a moment. Sonic was about to start fiddling with his comm when the other end came back again.

"Manic here Sonic, what's this about Sonia?"

"It looks like they were here recently. We found their packs and Chalks gun and…" Sonic stopped.

"What Sonic?" urged Manic.

"Manic we found some of Sonia's blood."

"Oh my god! Sonic what are we going to do?"

"Get yourself and Knuckles over to the village sharp. I don't know how long we can stay here before being detected but we'll stay as long as possible. In the mean time Sally and I will look for more clues."

"What about Amy and that hedgehog?"

"For now that's not our major concern. It might sound harsh but we don't know what going on there. We do know that Sonia is injured. We have to finds her, however much Amy's disappearance worries us."

"You got it Sonic. I'll get Knux and we'll be there shortly."

-----------------------------------------

Amy bent down and plucked a flower from the ground. She twisted it round her finger for a moment before looking at it. The flowers delicate blue petals seemed to shine in the sun to her. Never Lake, her home. She stood up with a sigh. They had almost made it. Just over the next ridge and a short walk and they would be standing on the shore of Never Lake.

"Don't get too comfy." said Nenya from the top of the ridge.

Amy looked up at him. He appeared to be concentrating on something away in the distance. Curious, Amy walked over to him. What she saw shocked her. Never Lake spread out in front of them but it was not how she remembered it. On the far eastern shore a huge area had been flattened and a large amount of machines and vehicles stood there. Even from here she could see that it was the Earth Alliance.

"They are back." said Nenya.

"Should we stop them?" asked Amy.

"I would but if we accomplish what we have set out to do there will be no need to do anything. Come on, we must hurry."

Nenya took a striding step forwards and set of down the hill towards Never Lake. Amy quickly ran after him but cautiously. She knew that the Alliance would soon pick them up on their scanners and she didn't want to run into that kind of situation. As she neared the lake she began to sense something. Something familiar but yet old. She blinked hard and it faded away. She looked up to see Nenya slowing to a walk ahead of her. He ducked down behind a bush and stopped. Amy joined him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The Alliance has made their new base at the entrance to the portal walkway. We can't get to it by land." replied Nenya.

Amy looked out from behind the bush. They were only a few hundred meters from the lakes edge and she could see the Alliance base clearly now. As Nenya had said, the base was located just at the point of the lake where the outcrop of land stretched out to the pillar that once served as the transporter between Mobius and Little Planet. She ducked back.

"What does the pillar have to do with it?" she asked.

"We need it for the merge. We'll have to swim across the lake." replied Nenya.

"Swim?" asked Amy slightly shocked.

As a rule of thumb, most hedgehogs hated water. Yeah sure to bathe in it was fine but water was another matter entirely. Growing up on Little Planet Amy had, to a degree, established a small tolerance to it. Saying this she still tried to avoid it wherever possible. She looked out over the lake. She had paddled in it before but swum?! She didn't even know how! Nenya saw how she was staring at the lake.

"I see you don't take to water too well." he said.

"Well not too well. I don't mind it as much as some but…" she gulped slightly, "….I've never swam before."

Nenya placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok. I'll help you."

Gingerly Amy walked to the edge of the lake and sat down next to it with Nenya. Slowly they both slid into the water and started to wade out. Soon Amy was standing on her toes with just her nose sticking out of the water. Nenya was floating next to her holding both of her hands.

"Amy relax. We can't go any further until you relax." he said.

"I can't! I can't! Take me back to the shore! Take me back!" panicked Amy.

"Amy we can't go back. The Alliance has probably already detected us. We must hurry to the pillar! We must get there before they find us."

"But I can't go on. I can't breath!"

"You can! Amy trust me! Relax please!"

As nervous as she was, Amy tried. She closed her eyes and slowly relaxed her body. At first she felt herself sinking more but Nenya's grip tightened on her hands. She forced herself to relax more and suddenly found herself going up. She couldn't feel water on her face anymore and she opened her eyes. To her surprise she was floating on the surface of the lake. Nenya floated beside her smiling.

"You see. You can do it." he said.

"Ye….yes." replied Amy totally surprised.

"Remember Amy. You are capable of anything as long as you set your mind to it. You're mind is the key. Believe in it and you can do anything!"

Amy could only nod slowly as she stared in surprise at Nenya's statement. Still holding onto each other, the pair slowly made their way across the lake. A few minutes later they were scrambling onto the opposite bank. They climbed the small bank and stopped on the flat ground. Amy bent almost double and started to breath quickly. Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she stood up. Nenya was already running around the transport pillar fusing over it.

"What are you doing Nenya?" asked Amy jogging over.

"Preparing the pillar for the cross jump." he replied not taking his eyes off his work.

"Cross jump?"

"Yes. This pillar is normally only active while Little Planet is here. It has been three years since it was last used and it has deactivated. I must activate it and prepare it for the cross jump."

"What is this cross jump?"

Nenya shot her a glance and Amy stopped. She blinked at him and Nenya returned to his work.

"The normal effects of this pillar are to transport matter from here to the surface of Little Planet. If Little Planet is not here the pillar deactivates to prevent accidents. I'm reconfiguring it to transport us not only across space but time as well."

"Time? You mean….to Little Planet?!"

"Yes. Little Planet has been lost in time since it disappeared. The Time Stones do not have enough energy to return Little Planet to our time line. It is lost in the endless fabric of time. This will allow us to traverse both space and time to reach it. However…"

Nenya was interrupted by a huge laser beam that streaked across in front of him and hit the ground throwing up a cloud of dirt. The pair looked up to see a squad of men running towards them. As they looked they opened fire again. The pair dived behind the pillar to avoid the oncoming fire.

"Amy I must finish my work. Here take this." said Nenya handing Amy his staff.

Amy had been surprised he had been able to carry it across the lake with her but was even more surprised now.

"Me? But what can I do with it?" she stammered.

"Trust me Amy. Believe and you can do it!" said Nenya.

As Amy gripped the staff a sharp twang clicked in her mind. It was the same feeling that she had every time she drew her mallet. Her eyes seemed to glow as she leaped out from behind the pillar. The sight of the pink hedgehog wearing a soaking wet skin hugging white dress and wielding a huge seven foot staff made the men stop for a moment. Amy used this hesitation, leaping forwards and taking a broad swing. Several of the men were still slightly alert and jumped backwards but the rest caught the blunted blade at the tip of the staff and fell to the ground with a thud. Amy landed with her back to the remaining men and shot a hard glance over her shoulder. Before the rest could react she had spun and swung the staff around at full length, cleanly hitting them all and knocking them all to the floor. As she did there is a whistling sound and a huge explosion erupts on the water about ten feet away.

"AMY!" cried Nenya.

Amy looked ahead to see a large white trail streaking out of the military base and hitting the water just on the edge of the shore. She spins to see Nenya beckoning her frantically. She ran to his side as a bright glow erupted from the pillar. As Amy neared she could see that the necklace around Nenya's neck was now sitting upright on the top of the pillar. It was glowing a deep blue as Nenya put his hand on it.

"Amy hurry! Put your hand on this and hold on tightly." he insisted.

"What is it?" asked Amy as she quickly did as she was asked.

"The doorway is opening. We are being drawn in."

Amy suddenly felt a surge of energy rush from her feet, through her body and out of her head. She looked up to see rings of white light quickly passing upwards towards a ball of energy high above them. The ball grew and suddenly the rings joined to become a tunnel of energy above them. It descended and surrounded them. Amy felt herself being draw up like the transporter usually felt but this time she also felt as if she was being drawn through her memories. Her life seemed to flash around her in a random order making it hard to follow and her head spin slightly. The light increased and suddenly shot upwards past the ball and onwards into the sky. As the light channeled into a beam and shot from the ground, a giant explosion rocked the out crop of land blowing the pillar to a million small fragments.


	4. Past Truths

Chapter 4 – Past Truths

Chalk slowly raised her head and looked around again. She sat on her heels, leaning against a wall in an Earth Alliance prison cell. Since she had been captured the previous day she had been left on her own in her cell without food or water. She had been weak from carrying Sonia before she had been captured but now she hardly had the energy to move her head. Speaking of Sonia, Chalk hadn't seen her since yesterday and she was worried about her. Sonia had been in a very bad way and Chalk feared the worst. Just then the door at the end of the prison block opened and Chalk pricked up her ears. She glanced over to see two men walking down the corridor dragging something between them. For a moment Chalk couldn't see what it was, the lights in the cell block were off, but as they drew closer she gasped. Hanging between the two men was the limp form of Sonia. One of the men pressed a button on a control pad releasing the door lock and together they threw the pink hedgehog into the cell making her hit the ground with a thud.

"It's a lucky thing our commander wanted her alive. Otherwise we would have just finished her off." sneered one of the men at Chalk.

"Looks like we'll have two people to interrogate tomorrow." laughed the other.

The two men both laughed again and then slowly walked off. Chalk gathered what was left of her strength and crawled over to Sonia. He slowly rolled her over and checked her condition. Her wounds had been dressed and her breathing was slightly more regular now than it was last time she had seen her.

"Sonia?" said Chalk quietly, "Sonia?"

Sonia made a small moaning sound and slowly her eyes opened. She looked at Chalk with a dazed expression on her face.

"Chalk?" she said slowly.

Chalk threw her arms around Sonia and hugged her.

"Oh god Sonia! I'm so glad you're ok. I feared the worst." she sobbed.

"Me too." said Sonia weakly.

"What did they do to you?"

"They put me in this room which looked a bit like a medical ward but a whole lot colder. They treated my wounds and then brought me here. To say the least I was terrified. I kept thinking that any moment they would suddenly do something to me."

"I know how you feel Sonia. I was scared too."

Chalk slowly helped Sonia into a sitting position. She looked around slowly and sighed.

"And now we're stuck in here. No-one even knows we are here." she said.

"I wouldn't be too sure Sonia. Remember we left all our gear in Knotlake." encouraged Chalk.

Sonia seemed to brighten slightly. She looked up at Chalk.

"But even if anyone finds it, how will they know we came here?" she asked.

Chalk didn't respond she was too busy thinking.

-----------------------------------------

A huge white flash filled the blackness before fading away. As it cleared the figures of Amy and Nenya stood holding the Time Star. As they appeared Amy started to look around.

"What's going on? Where are we?" she asked.

"Wait a moment." replied Nenya, "We are almost there."

Just then the blackness around them started to fuzz. It changed colour a few times and then settled on a mixed red green colour. Amy felt something beneath her feet and looked down. A small patch of grass sat beneath her. As she watched the patch slowly grew until it covered virtually all of the blackness in all direction. The blackness blurred and Amy gapped in awe as around her Little Planet appeared. She hadn't seen it in three years and at first it seemed strange at first. She bent down and brushed her hand across the grass. It was real, it really was Little Planet. She looked up to see a familiar mutlicoloured sky above her.

"Little Planet." she said slowly.

"Yes it is. We must hurry. We have a lot of work to do." replied Nenya.

Yes a lot of work but there was something Amy just had to check on. Before Nenya could stop her she had spun to her feet and darted off towards Palmtree Panic.

-----------------------------------------

Sonic and Sally met T2, Knuckles and Manic about half a mile outside of Knotlake. Sonic and Sally had brought Chalk and Sonia's gear with them and were now looking through bits of it for clues. They hadn't found anything of worth though. At present they sat with their back to each other thinking but stood up as the others arrived.

"Found anything?" asked Manic quickly before anyone else spoke.

"Not a thing." replied Sonic, "They were definitely here but they are not any more."

"Then where'd they go?" asked T2.

"No idea." answered Sally with a sigh.

Manic was now fishing through Sonia's pack frantically.

"What you looking for?" asked Knuckles.

"Sonia's diary." replied Manic.

"What?" asked Sonic.

"It might not be proper etiquette but it might give us a clue. If they spent at least one night here there might be an entry."

Everyone waited for Manic. At length he took out a small leather bound book and opened the clasp. He flicked to the end and started to skim read. Finally he looked up and nodded at everyone.

"Got it. Listen to this." said Manic looking back at the book, "Entry 17891: We have just arrived in Knotlake to find it completely destroyed. I can't believe how much it hurts. We don't even know if anyone else is alive. I hope Manic is alright and everyone else too. Guess we have to keep searching…..there's a tear mark there and it's blurred some of the words. Next bit is….I'm so worried and I can hardly bare to write this. We will be setting out tonight for….another tear mark…..and hopefully we will find them there. If not we'll have to keep going."

Manic looked up from the book and growled.

"She had to cry on the most important part didn't she! Ooooooooh!" he growled.

He threw the book at the ground and slumped onto his hunches. Sally got up and walked over to the book. She picked it up and flicked to the page Manic had been reading.

"It's ok Manic. We still might be able to use this. Hmm…..looks like an L….but then it might be a double t….can't make out too much more. OH! First word ends in e and both words are about six letters long." said Sally partly to herself as she studied the blur on the page.

"Lemme see." said T2.

Sally handed him the book and he frowned at it for several moments.

"You lot must be blind." he said at length.

"Well excuse us for not having the eyes of a fox!" snapped Manic.

T2 paid him no attention and turned to Sally.

"You're right in what you've said. It is an 'l' and a double 't' in the middle. The last letter is an 'e' and the second word ends in net." T2 looked up, "Sound familiar?"

"Little Planet?" said Knuckles.

"You got it." replied T2 with a nod.

"They've gone to Little Planet have they." said Sonic to himself.

"Little Planet!" cried Manic standing up quickly, "Oh no!"

"What?" asked Sally.

"Don't you remember?" urged Manic, "Amy said that red hedgehog was captured at Little Planet."

Everyone blinked.

"God you're right. She told us that last night before we went to bed." said Sonic.

"We have to hurry there. If they went there and Sonia is injured they could be captured too." said Manic hoisting Sonia's pack onto his back.

Sonic picked up Chalk's and T2 shouldered Chalk's gun. They all nodded at each other and set off into the forest.

-----------------------------------------

Chalk hit the floor hard with a piercing cry. She curled up as best she could and started to whimper. The pain was intense and it had only been about ten minutes since they had started.

"That's not all there is either!" shouted a soldier, "We got plenty more so you better talk! What were you doing round our base?!"

"No…NOTHING!" cried Chalk through her sobs, "We were just looking for our friends!"

"That's not all is it?! You are spies and we know it!"

The soldier marched over to her and roughly grabbed her. He threw her up against the wall and hit her in the side with a short staff like object. There was a crack and a bolt of energy shot across Chalk's body. She screamed as her fur smoked slightly. The soldier dropped her on the floor and walked away slightly taking of his insulating glove as he did. He walked over to a couple of soldiers.

"Take her back to her cell and bring the next one." he said.

The two soldiers nodded and walked over to Chalk. They grabbed an arm each and dragged Chalk back to her cell. They dropped her face first on the floor and walked over to Sonia. Sonia was sleeping roughly on the floor and woke with a start as the soldiers grabbed her.

"Get off me!" she cried weakly.

"Leave her alone!" moaned Chalk looking up slightly, "She's injured."

"You'll be injured too if you don't shut up!" said one soldier.

They turned and carried the slightly struggling Sonia out of the cell. Chalk collapsed back onto the floor. She started to sob quietly, all she had to do was wait now. A few minutes later an ear piercing scream ripped the air. Chalk tried to cover her ears but because of their size she was unable to block out Sonia's screams. Chalk continued to lie on the floor sobbing as she waited for her turn again.

-----------------------------------------

Amy continued to run with Nenya in pursuit. Amy wished she had the power to instantly transport from one point to another but for now running would have to do. Finally she reached Palmtree Panic and spun to the side. It wasn't far now. A few moments later she saw it, a small house sitting in the middle of a small garden. Soft yellow lights filled the windows as she raced up the path. She suddenly stopped. What was she going to do now? Should she knock or should she just walk in? She thought for a second and then knocked on the door. She waited for what seemed like an eternity before there was a locking type sound from behind the door. Slowly the door opened to reveal a tall slender pink hedgehog. Her eyes went wide as she saw Amy.

"Amielle?" she finally managed to say.

Just then a blue hedgehog appeared behind the pink one. He shook his head and blinked.

"Amy?!" he said totally shocked.

"Yes…it's me." replied Amy.

The pink hedgehog suddenly swooned and collapsed but the blue one caught her before she fell over.

"Marian, you alright?" asked the blue hedgehog.

"Yeah, just a bit light headed Patrick." replied Marian.

The two looked up at Amy as Nenya suddenly appeared on the step. The pairs eyes went wide Marian passed out.

"Oh god! I need to get her a place to lie down." he said picking up Marian and walking into the house.

Amy and Nenya waited on the door step for a few minutes. At last Patrick appeared again and motioned for them to come inside. They walked into the house and into the living room. Marian sat on the couch holding a cup of strong black coffee. She looked up as they all entered. She looked totally shocked and confused. Patrick sat down next to her and Amy and Nenya sat down on a couch opposite them. For a short time they just looked at each other before Marian spoke.

"Amielle……it's…..SO good to see you again." she said slowly.

"I know mother. I never thought I'd see you again." replied Amy.

"But how did you get here?" asked Patrick, "Little Planet is still…"

"I can answer that." said Nenya, "We used this."

Nenya took out the Time Star and set it down on the table between the two couches. Patrick and Marian looked at it for a second and then looked at Nenya. Marian seemed more shocked at Nenya's presence than Amy's. Finally she spoke.

"Nenya? Nenya is that really you?" she said slowly.

"What?" said Amy shocked.

"Yes it's me." replied Nenya.

"My god Nenya! We thought you were gone!" continued Marian.

"Mother?! You mean you know him?" asked Amy.

"Yes." said Marian turning to look at her, "She's our son."

Amy's head snapped to look at Nenya. Her face fell.

"Then what you said was true! You really are my brother!" she gasped.

"Yes." nodded Nenya.

Amy turned to look at her parents and blinked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, "Why didn't you say I had a brother?"

Marian and Patrick both looked at her.

"Amy…" started her father, "….this is amazing enough as it is! You suddenly appearing her on Little Planet after three years? We thought we'd never see you again just like Nenya."

"I can't believe it. Both of you…at the same time!" said Marian, "Where have you been Nenya? What happened to you?"

Nenya closed his eyes and seemed to shudder. Amy looked concerned.

"Nenya? You alright?" she asked.

"No. No I'm not." he replied.

"What's wrong?" asked Marian.

"It's the Stones. I've been away too long! They are failing." he replied.

Just then Nenya's body gave a shimmer and faded slightly. Everyone gasped.

"What?!" cried Patrick.

"Nenya…what's happening to you?" asked Marian too shocked to cry.

"The Time Stones are losing their grip in time. If I don't hurry this place really will disappear into the vastness of time and have no hope of coming back." said Nenya.

"What do we do?" asked Amy.

"I must go back into the Stones…and you Amy must come with me!"

"WHAT?!" cried Amy.

"The Time Stones? THAT'S were you've been?!" cried Marian standing up.

"Yes. Amy you must come with me! I'm not strong enough to do it myself."

"But I can't! I have a family and…"

"There is no way to go back to them without doing this."

"What?"

"I meant to tell you earlier, when we were at the pillar but the attack happened."

"What do you mean?"

"The transporter will only work on a one way basis for cross dimensional travel. There is no way back to Mobius apart from restoring Little Planet. Besides the transporter was destroyed moments after we left."

Amy was now standing along with everyone else. She starred at Nenya totally shocked.

"You mean….there's no way back?" she said quietly.

"Only one. We must restore Little Planet. The weaker the Time Stones grip becomes the weaker I get. I can no longer do it by myself. I need your help! Please Amy."

Amy paused for a moment. The tone of Nenya's voice was one of a scared child, he really was scared. _Please trust in Nenya…he is worthy of that at the very least. _Amy looked straight at Nenya and slowly she nodded.

"Ok I will help." she replied.

"No!" cried Marian grabbing them both and dragging them into a tight hug, "I've lost you both before! I don't want to lose you again! I couldn't bare it! Nenya please don't go! Please I'm begging you! Please stay with me!"

"Mother." replied Nenya looking at her, "We have to. If Little Planet is not restored now it will never be restored. The Time Stones will fade away along with me. This world will degenerate in the time field and slowly fade to nothing along with everyone on it. If Amy and I do not do this everything….everyone will die."

Marian gulped back her tears but Amy could feel her sobbing inside.

"Marian….don't worry about it." she said, "I guess this was going to happen sometime or another. I've done it before when I restored Little Planet last time and come back."

"Yes but only because of Tails! You don't know where he is! What if the tear thing only works for a certain length of time? You could be trapped forever!" replied Marian.

"If Amy is as strong as I think she is she will not need a tear to return. She only just needed a tear last time."

"How do you know about that?" asked Amy.

"Remember I was in the Stones with you." replied Nenya.

"You….were…"

Amy blinked, it was true. When she had sacrificed herself to the Time Stones before Nenya would have been in there too.

"Then why didn't you contact me then?" she asked.

"You were still young and your skills had not developed. I could feel you but there was no way for us to communicate." answered Nenya before he groaned and collapsed into the sofa.

"Nenya!" cried Marian sitting down by him quickly.

Nenya was now holding his head and gritting his teeth hard.

"It's already started. The first Time Stone has lost it's grip on time." he said before yelping slightly, "Make that two. We have to hurry! There is no time left for us."

Amy although she knew that this process might not be reversible felt no fear at all, only sadness for Tails and Lavender. She hoped they would understand. She grabbed Nenya's hand and fled from her parent's house with them in pursuit. Nenya was getting worst and could hardly run now. With a bit of effort Amy dragged Nenya the short distance to the shrine and ran inside. She hadn't entered this place in three years and strangely the whole shrine seemed to light up as she entered. The Time Stones hung in the air above their pedicle but two of them were dim and lifeless. A third one showed signs of following as it was very dull in colour. The pair stopped by the Stones and Nenya picked them up. He strained to push away his pain but it was evident.

"Nenya…are you sure you can do this?" asked Amy.

"I have to. I am their essence and without me they will be lost forever."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Simply give me your strength as I try to pull the Stones back from the brink. I will need you to be strong. Stronger than you have ever been before in your life."

"I'll try."

"Good. Get ready."

Nenya slowly held out the Stone out in front of himself and motioned for Amy to take a hold too. She did and then Nenya spoke.

"Time Stones, I have returned." he said.

Suddenly Amy felt herself being pulled at the Stones. It was just like last time, just like last….Amy passed out.

-----------------------------------------

Sonia and Chalk sat huddled in a corner of their cell. They were hugging each other tightly and staring at the door of the cell. There had been a short break in their interrogation and the pair was now trying to calm each other down. Chalk suddenly found herself running her hand through Sonia's hair.

"Oh!" she said in shock removing her hand, "I'm sorry Sonia."

"No it's ok. It was nice actually." replied Sonia with a sad tone.

"I see."

Chalk resumed running her hand through Sonia hair for a few moments before Sonia spoke.

"Chalk?" she said.

"Yeah Sonia."

"Ever wondered what's on the other side?"

"Huh?"

Chalk stopped and looked at Sonia. She had a distant look in her eyes as she stared at the cell door.

"Sonia what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Face it Chalk. They're not going to believe us. If we don't say we are spies they are going to kill us. And even if we do they'll kill us for being spies."

"Sonia!"

Chalk could believe her friend had just said that.

"Sonia! Don't say things like that! There is still hope. Every situation has a solution, you just have to find it."

"What solution?" said Sonia with a sigh, "I can't see one. We can't escape and no-one knows we are here. What solution Chalk? Face it, we are dead."

Sonia's statement rocked Chalk to the core. The way she said it, so lifeless and accepted. Sonia actually believed what she had just said. Chalk shook her head. No it wasn't going to happen! They would pull through! Someone would find them! They would because…

"Our bags!" said Chalk out load.

"What about them?" asked Sonia in the same tone as earlier.

"We left them in Knotlake! What if someone heard of the attack we fended off and found our bags! They might be able to find us."

"I doubt it. They have no way of knowing we came here. And even if they did how would they get in?"

Chalk wasn't about to accept that. They would find them! Someone WOULD find them!

-----------------------------------------

"Take a look." said Sonic handing Sally the binoculars.

Sally knelt down on the bank and focused on the target in the distance. A large military outpost sprung into view. She bit her lip and scanned the area. Well secured, it would be hard to break in. She sat up.

"So what you think?" asked Sonic.

"Like it's gonna be hell getting in never mind getting out again." replied Sally.

"Plus we don't even know they are in there." said T2.

"She has to be." said Manic.

"It might have just been a thought she had written down Manic." said Knuckles, "They could be somewhere completely different."

"I know but Sonia isn't like that." replied Manic.

"I see." nodded Knuckles.

"Well whether they are or not we got a job to do people." said Sonic.

"Hmm…possibly." said T2.

"What do you mean possibly?" asked Sonic.

"You're considering going down their just to cause trouble and hoping to find them right?"

Everyone looked at Sonic.

"Well kinda. I mean if they are in there we have to get them out." he said.

"Not to put a damper on you Sonic but how? As I said they got it buttoned up tight." asked Sally.

"Simple. Can anyone say decoy?" said Sonic pointing at himself.

"You're not considering what I think you're considering are you?" asked Knuckles.

"You betcha." replied Sonic.

"I'll be joining you then." said Knuckles.

"Me too." said Sally quickly.

"Here's an idea!" said Sonic sarcastically, "Why don't we ALL be decoys? That'll work won't it? Look I'm going in alone. You guys look for the girls. Hopefully I'll attract enough attention to give you a clear run."

Sally sighed.

"Very well Sonic. I sometimes can't believe how much like your younger self you are." she said.

"It surprises me some times. Oh and something I thought of on the way over. Keep an eye out for Amy and that hedgehog too. He said he came from Never Lake and, as much as I can't see it, they might have come back here when they disappeared."

"Good point Sonic." said T2, "Huh! We kinda forgot about that eh? I can see your point though Sonic. This place brings nothing but pain to Amy now. But we'll keep an eye out."

"Good. Let's go." said Sonic.

-----------------------------------------

Amy slowly woke to a white sparkling backdrop. She recognized it instantly.

"We're inside." she said quickly.

"Yes." replied Nenya from beside her, "But we must hurry."

As he spoke part of the white surround turned black. Nenya's face dropped.

"That's three. I have to pull them back before it's too late. Amy I need you to help!"

"Of course. Just tell me what to do."

"Take my hand."

Amy did so and instantly fell to her knees with a scream. Nenya tightened his grip on her hand.

"What…what is THAT?!" screamed Amy.

"That is what I'm feeling. The Time Stones slipping away. I've been their anchor since I was born and as they go so do bits of me."

Amy started to whimper heavily as she tried to breath. She felt as if someone was cutting of part of her body with a knife. It was almost unbearable.

"Amy you have to be strong for me. I can't do this alone." said Nenya.

"Y…..yes!" strained Amy as she forced herself to stand up.

"Good. Now just lean on whatever I do. Channel your energy through me and hold on tight."

"Channel me energy?" asked Amy.

Nenya had no time to answer as Amy felt a surge of energy race through her. She could feel Nenya straining against the force pulling the Time Stones apart. She could feel him reaching out and suddenly she understood. With a thud she threw her entire mind behind Nenya's action. They both glowed brightly and suddenly a section of the surround turned white again. Amy's eyes slowly closed as she focused on Nenya. This time she reached out first, throwing her entire consciousness into the void. Suddenly she felt a presence soar over her. It was Nenya and seconds later another area turned white again. Amy felt herself turn to Nenya and something passed between them. As it did their minds merged into one in a second Amy felt something she hadn't felt in years. The feeling that had been missing ever since she had been de-robotisised. The feeling of her Acolyte self. There was a pause and suddenly they leaped into the depths of time for a final time. This time Amy over took Nenya and latched on to the final Time Stone. As she did she felt a surge of energy pass through her as the Stone responded to her grasp and found its way back to the others. There was a pulse of light and Amy opened her eyes. Nenya stood before her smiling broadly. Without saying a word they released one hand and stood side by side, one hand still clasped. They raised their arms and as they did a wave of white energy rippled past them. Closing their eyes the pair seemed to grow in size as another wave passed by. Suddenly their hands started to glow and, as they raised them, a gentle aura formed around them. With a quick movement they swung their hands down and then flung them up causing a pillar of light to erupt from them both. All around them the white surround started to glow and shimmer.


	5. Revival

Chapter 5 – Revival

With a loud boom that shook the undergrowth, Sonic shot down the hill at the military base. Pulling out an automatic frag grenade launcher he aimed and fired all three shots ahead of him. The grenades hit the base's main gate and surrounding defenses all of which exploded. Sonic quickly discarded the launcher and shot through the open entrance. Alarms went off all over the base.

-----------------------------------------

"I hope he'll be alright." said Sally.

"Don't worry about him Sally." replied T2, "Sonic may be getting on a bit in age but he has still got it where it counts."

"What do you mean getting on a bit? He's only as old as me and I'm still perky." said Sally.

"Oh come off it Sally." joked Manic, "You're over the hill."

"Thirty four is NOT over the hill! Besides who are you to joke. You're the same age." replied Sally.

Manic suddenly stopped and everyone looked at him.

"Oh yeah." he said finally.

Knuckles broke down in laughter.

"At least I still got a year over you two." he said.

"Come on people. This is no time for jokes." snapped Sally.

"You're right Sal." said T2, "Come on you two."

Manic and Knuckles quickly shut up and followed Sally and T2 down the side of the hill. It was nearly vertical and covered in loose rocks making their decent fast and hazardous but they soon all stood as the bottom. Whereas Sonic had gone straight frontal at the outpost, the rest of them had decided to sneak in round the back and try to find out what they needed. As the alarms went off they made their move. With a quick leap Knuckles was up the defense wall and had knocked out two very surprised looking guards. Moments later T2 arrived carrying Sally and Manic.

"Nicely done Knux." said Manic.

"Thank me later. We have to hurry." replied Knuckles jumping down into the complex.

The rest joined him and together they slowly made their way into the base. At the present time they appeared to go un-noticed.

"Sonic's distraction really worked well." said T2.

"I just hope he doesn't get over confident." said Sally.

"Shh." hissed Knuckles, "I hear something."

The group stopped at Knuckles command and listened.

"….order from Commander Jake! Make all personnel and prisoners ready for immediate transport."

"Yes sir!"

"Those two in holding are a top priority."

"Yes sir!"

Knuckles looked back at the rest.

"Two in holding? Top priority?" he said.

"That's gotta be Chalk and Sonia!" said Manic quickly

"Maybe its Amy and that hedgehog?" said Sally.

"Could be." said T2, "Either way we should check it out."

"Agreed." said Sally, "But how. If they are that important they'll be under heavy guard."

"I can handle that." said Knuckles with a grin.

"How?" asked T2.

"Like this." replied Knuckles.

He took a step backwards and in a bright flash shifted to his super form.

"Scram." he said.

Without warming he spun and took a running step before disappearing in a flash of light. T2 turned to the others.

"We better get out of here before all hell breaks loose." he said.

The others nodded in agreement. T2 quickly took hold of their hand and spun his tails.

-----------------------------------------

"Weehoo!" cried Sonic as he effortlessly evaded another laser blast.

The retaliation against him was intense but it was nothing he couldn't handle. A few laser cannons and a few troops. As he was only a distraction he was busy causing as much trouble as possible. As he dodged another blast he noticed a bright flash from within the base. A moment later a squad of men were sent flying as a pinkish coloured blur shot into view.

"So Knuckles has finally decided to join in. Wondered how long it would take. Probably means they've found something. I better follow." said Sonic to himself.

Since Knuckles has been revived by the Chaos Emerald he had found that he could go super at will and head no need for rings. Sonic, to say the least, had been impressed. With that Sonic skidded to a halt, spun through a hundred and eighty degrees and shot after the blur. Even going his fastest he could only just keep up. Knuckles' super form was definitely fast. Sonic watched as Knuckles ignored a defense turret and headed straight through it blowing it to piece. Sonic had to swerve several times to avoid the flying debris as well as the vast amounts of laser fire heading in his direction. As Sonic watched Knuckles smash through one of the base walls a huge explosion threw him off his feet. He flew through the air for a few seconds before landing with a thud a few meters away. He looked up quickly but could already his predicament. Ever soldier and turret was trained on him waiting. Sonic was thinking fast. Could he dodge every shot fired if he tried to escape? Possibly, but what if he didn't. They would kill him if they gave them a reason. Sonic blinked, there was only one thing he could do to guarantee his survival. With a bit of reluctance he slowly raised his hands.

-----------------------------------------

"Oh god!" said T2 as he glanced over his shoulder.

Sally, Manic and himself were nearly at the wall of the base now hovering about ten feet off the ground. T2 had been waiting for a clear spot to dive out of cover and cross the wall but he had seen something more important.

"What is it T2?" asked Sally.

"Sally look! Sonic!" said T2 nodding in the direction.

Sally looked and gasped. Sonic was surrounded by a large number of soldiers and he had….raised his hands! Sally's face fell.

"Sonic! What's he doing?!" cried Sally.

Just then one of the soldiers approached Sonic from behind and gave him a hard smack around the head with the butt of his gun. Sonic fell to the floor with a thud. Sally panicked.

"We have to do something! T2 we gotta save him!" she said quickly.

"Sally we can't do anything to that force. We have no weapons and Knuckles will be getting tired soon so he'll have to drop out of his super form." replied T2.

"What about your Power Stone?"

"As I've said before Sally I can't do anything. Ever since Petya went missing the Power Stone has been incredibly weak. I can't do anything with it. I've got no power left."

"But we can't just leave…"

"We have to." said a voice.

They all turned to see Knuckles standing below them. He was back to his normal self and looked tired.

"I've exhausted myself trying to find out about the prisoners here. We need to get out of here." he said.

"No." said Sally shaking her head frantically.

Just then T2 spun his tails a little faster and started to lift them upwards.

"T2! Wait! There might be something we can do!" said Sally as they started to clear the wall.

T2 didn't reply. Sally looked over at Manic hanging next to her. He was staring at the ground looking glum. Sally glanced back to see a couple of soldiers picking up Sonic and carrying him off.

"Sonic." she said quietly as they passed over the wall.

T2 landed on the opposite side and Knuckles soon jumped down next to them after climbing the wall. With a bit of reluctance Sally followed the others towards a small wood at a run.

-----------------------------------------

Chalk and Sonia huddled in a corner of their cell cuddling each other. They were both partly asleep but their ears twitched listening for sounds. Just then a loud clang made them both snap back to alertness. They looked up to see the door at the end of the cell block had slid open. They looked back at each other.

"They're coming back." said Chalk.

"Yes." replied Sonia.

"Sonia! They're coming back!"

"So?"

"SO?! Sonia they…"

Chalk didn't finish her sentence. Instead she buried her head in Sonia's shoulder and started to cry.

"Sonia! Don't let them take me away again! Please don't let them take me." she cried.

Sonia didn't reply. Instead she lowered her head into Chalk's shoulder and stared at it. They both heard the cell door open and felt each other tense. Just then there was a small grunt from the soldier and then a thud followed quickly by the cell door closing again. Neither of them looked up until they heard the far door close. When they did Chalk slowly raised her head. Lying on the floor of the cell was a blue hedgehog. He looked familiar, too familiar.

"S…Sonic?" she said quietly.

"Sonic?" said Sonia turning slightly.

The hedgehog groaned and slowly shook his head.

"Ooooh! Great plan Sonic! Brilliant plan!" he said.

"Sonic!" cried Chalk.

The hedgehog looked over at them and blinked.

"My god! Chalk! Sonia! So you were here after all! I'm glad you're ok." said Sonic standing up slowly.

As Sonic looked at them he could tell that they weren't alright though. The way they huddle in a corner was to say the least disturbing.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Neither of the girls spoke. Sonic walked up to them and crouched next to their huddle.

"You alright?" he asked again.

Sonia just continued to stare at Chalk's shoulder. Chalk slowly looked up at him.

"Are you here to rescue us?" she asked.

Sonic leaned back slightly. He hadn't planned on them being here. It threw an unexpected element into the works. And unexpected things needed unexpected solutions.

"You bet!" he cried cheerfully, "Don't worry I'll get you out in no time."

Sonic spun to the bars. They didn't look too tough. They obviously hadn't expected Sonic the Hedgehog to be in here. Sonic drew himself back and threw himself at the bars curling into a ball as he did.

"Sonic wait!" cried Chalk, "The bars are…"

Sonic wouldn't have had time to stop even if he had heard. He hit the bars but instead of smashing or cutting through there was a fizzle and Sonic found himself sliding down the back wall of the cell feeling very dazed.

"The bars have repulsive fields around them." finished Chalk quietly.

Sonic had now reached the floor and shook his head hard.

"Ooooh! This is going to be tougher than I thought." he said quietly.

-----------------------------------------

"We have to go back!" cried Sally.

"Sally get a grip for lords sake!" cried Knuckles shaking her, "Do you think we can just walk in there again? Last time we had surprise, do you think they will simply stand down now? No! If anything that place will be buttoned up so tight it'll be turning blue!"

"Knuckles calm it!" said T2.

"Calm it!" cried Knuckles releasing Sally, who staggered back onto Manic, "You're telling me to calm it?!"

"Yes!" screamed T2., "Shut up and calm down NOW!"

Even without the power of the Power Stone, T2 was still intimidating when angry. His eyes flashed and Knuckles quickly shut up.

"What you said is right Knuckles but we mustn't let this effect us." he said.

"How can't it?" asked Manic who was now holding a sobbing Sally, "We go in to try and rescue Chalk and Sonia, if they were even there, and end up losing another team member. And not just anyone, Sonic for god sake!"

"I know but we still have a chance." replied T2, "They can't keep them there forever and eventually they will have to step down security. If they try to move him we can intercept and if Sonic is even slightly awake he'll be looking for a way to escape anyway."

"That's true." said Knuckles quietly.

T2 looked out over the area. They had made their way to a high point about a mile from Never Lake and were now looking down at the lake and the base next to it. He growl quietly to himself. Just then he saw a strange sight. He blinked to make sure it wasn't something in his eye but it was there. Above Never Lake a small heat haze was floating around. He looked at it a bit more and slowly made out its shape. A giant sphere.

"Hey guys you see this?" he asked.

Everyone looked up and frowned as puzzled expressions crossed their faces. They continued to watch and suddenly a small point of energy appeared at the bottom of the haze. The point grew into a ring and slowly increased in size as it moved up to the equator and the contracted back down as it reached the top. With no warning at all a sudden jet of sparks shot from the point sending flaming arrows of light flying all over. Everyone hit the ground as the light fell all around them. They looked up to see the sparks fading away. The air filled with a soft humm and T2 spotted something in the sky.

"Look!" he cried pointing upwards.

They all looked as a beam of white energy shot out of the sky and struck the ground where the Little Planet transporter would have been. It stopped and then slowly went up slightly encircling the haze in a white sphere. The beam stopped and in a massive white flash a large sphere appeared over the lake. The group gasped.

"MY GOD!" said Knuckles as his jaw hit the floor.

"Little Planet!" said Sally in awe.

"Amy." said Manic.

-----------------------------------------

"We've done it!" cried Nenya, "We've actually done it!"

His joy was evident as he beamed at Amy. Amy however looked directly at the floor.

"What's wrong?" asked Nenya.

"I can't go back." replied Amy.

Nenya's expression changed and he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"I can't go back can I?" she asked.

"Amy, before you despair I must tell you something." he said, "I wasn't sure about it before but I am now. You are not a normal Acolyte."

"Huh?"

"You're not. The way the Time Stones have easily accepted you twice into their realm is proof enough. That is not a normal event. Normally only the only people to see the inside of the Stones are the children acting as guardian and anchor. No you are different. Also when you helped me retrieve the lost Time Stones, when YOU reached out for the last one. That should not have been possible. I am serious, you should not have been able to do that. And then you joined me in the restoration, only a guardian would know how to do that."

"You mean I'm a guardian too?"

"No…you are something more. You are a new generation…wait…that's it!"

"What?"

"Acolyte law only permitted one child from every family and those who lost their child to the Stones were not permitted to have another. Never in Acolyte history has a second child been born in a family…until now. Patrick and Marian did not know about the Acolytes until after they had been draw into your mind after your birth. You were their second child! A second generation! That's it! Don't you see it Amy? You are a new breed of Acolyte, an evolution, something the Ancient Acolytes never thought of. A second child."

Amy blinked. Could it be possible? She had learned her skills with great speed, was that normal? Her ability to keep up with Nenya, was that normal? No it wasn't. Maybe he was right. What if she was something new? As she accepted this something inside her clicked. She reeled slightly as her body flashed white. Suddenly her mind was touched by an odd sensation. She knew it but it was still slightly alien to her. She felt her hands getting warm. She turned them over to find a ball of energy sitting in each of them. As first she was shocked but as she looked at them she recognized them. Her old skills, they had returned. Amy's mind suddenly cleared and she found herself able to reach out and see anything. She felt her consciousness growing, spanning outwards. Then with a sudden burst of energy she shook her head. Nenya still stood next to her but now he was smiling again.

"I see the Time Stones have finally shown there true intentions too." he said.

"Wha?" said Amy still slightly dazzled by the whole event.

"They too seemed to have noticed your difference. They have probably known about it ever since you were born but waited until now to finally reveal that they do know."

"Huh?"

"Amy look around and see your skills. I can feel that you are different and my link to the Time Stones allows me to understand what is going on in part. You Amy are now something the Acolytes never thought possible. You are an ascendant of the Acolytes. The next stage in the Acolyte's evolution."

"I am?" said Amy.

Was she? Could this be true? As she asked these questions of herself her mind went completely blank and one word floated above everything, yes!

"Yes I am!" she said he hands glowing more, "I am! I can feel it! I am an Ascendant!"

As she said this her thought rippled out over the surface of Little Planet and outwards. Over Never Lake and the military base. Outwards past her friends and onwards across the entire surface of Mobius. Her thoughts trained in on Tails far off in a distant part of Mobius.

"Do not fear Tails! I am back!"

Finally her thoughts flashed back to Never Lake and her captive friends. She narrowed her eyes and pierced directly into their minds.

"You have nothing to fear. I am coming!"

She drew her thoughts back and looked at Nenya.

"I must go Nenya." she said.

"I understand Amy. I have to remain, it is my duty but you do not." he replied.

"I will not forget you brother."

"Nor will I my dear sister. Live your life to the full and make me proud."

"Yes."

Amy slowly turned away and lowered her head. She raised her arms slowly and turned her hands palm upwards. As she did her whole body flashed and slowly faded from view. Soon all that remained was a small ball of light where Amy's heart had been. It danced in front of Nenya for a moment and then shot upwards.

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"What was that?!" asked Sally.

"I have no idea." replied Manic.

"Little Planet is back!" mumbled Knuckles to himself.

"How?" asked T2 still staring at the small world.

"This is unreal." said Sally, "It's just not possible."

For several minutes none of them spoke. Simply staring at Little Planet was enough to completely occupy them. Just then a small speck of light dropped from Little Planet and hit the ground below with a flash. The whole group stared at it and then looked at each other for a second before diving down the hill towards the lake.

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As the flash cleared the orb had changed. In its place now stood Amy. She looked up slowly fixing her gaze on the military base. As a slow walk she set out towards it. As she approached the guard troops noticed her and recognized her from before. Without a seconds pause they opened fire. As the incoming shots approached her Amy slowly raised her hand. With a quick flick the incoming shots were knocked aside flying off in random directions. Another volley came in and this time Amy didn't flick her hand. A ball of energy grew in her hand and the shots slowed to a halt in front of her. She raised her hand and quickly spun round causing a spiral of energy to surround her. Without a pause she threw both her hands forwards at the halted shots. Some flew back along their original path but the rest joined with Amy's energy causing a giant blast to fly against the base gates. Even if Sonic hadn't weakened them earlier they would not have survived the blast. The gates disintegrated on contact but the blast didn't stop there. It kept going straight through the base taking several buildings and part of the base wall with it. Amy blinked slowly and walked into the base batting and halting weapons fire as she did.

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Sonic wobbled on his feet as a huge explosion rocked the base. He quickly put his hand out to steady himself against the wall.

"What was that?!" he cried.

Sonia started to whimper to herself and huddled into Chalk a little more. Sonic looked over at her, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting like this? He had no time to think about this though as suddenly the door at the end of the prison block exploded. Sonic screamed and hit the floor before looking up. A small figure stood in the doorway surrounded by a bright white light. As the light faded Sonic jumped to his feet.

"No way!" he said, "Amy?!"

Amy walked towards the cell and stopped. With a flick of her hand the cell door swung open and she stepped inside. Sonic was totally stunned.

"Amy! What…what's going on? How are you…?"

"Shh Sonic. I will explain later." said Amy walking over to Chalk and Sonia.

She knelt down next to them and waited. Chalk looked up at her.

"Amy….have you come to rescue us too?" she asked.

"No Chalk. You are strong enough to rescue yourself." replied Amy, "Look at me."

Chalk looked at Amy and their gaze met. For a second nothing seemed to happen and then Chalk's eyes suddenly lit up. She jerked backwards and gasped.

"Huh? Wha? What was…?" said Chalk before looking at Amy, "Amy what was that?"

"Nothing much. Just a little nudge." replied Amy turning to Sonia, "Sonia? Sonia look at me."

Slowly Sonia looked up at Amy. Amy took hold of Sonia's hands and stared straight at her. Sonia held her gaze and suddenly tears started to well in her eyes. Suddenly Sonia burst into tears but her gaze remained fixed on Amy. Just then Amy's hands glowed and so did all of Sonia's body. With a flash Sonia was standing on her feet glancing round. She blinked at Amy.

"What the?" she said.

"Not now. I'll explain later Sonia." replied Amy.

"If explaining comes later we gotta move onto what to do now." said Sonic, "Getting out of here would be a good start."

"No need. I'll simply get here out of us." said Amy.

Everyone blinked and looked at her.

"Watch." she said and raised her arms.

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As T2, Sally, Manic and Knuckles raced across a section of open ground on the opposite side of the lake to the base a soft humm filled the air.

"What's that noise?" asked Manic.

"Got me." replied Knuckles.

They reached the edge of the lake and peered out across it. The base looked eerily quiet.

"I don't like it." muttered T2.

"Me neither." replied Sally, "What's going on?"

Sally looked up at Little Planet above her. What was going on? Just then she saw something.

"Hey guys you see…?" she started.

She was too late to finish though as a huge bolt of energy shot from Little Planet hitting the ground right were the transporter would have been. In a flash it had rushed past them and faded away. The whole group gasped and staggered slightly. They all looked up at each other. There was a faint glow surrounding them all and each felt as if twenty years had been lifted off them. They turned and gazed out over the lake. The sight made them all gasp loudly. All around the lake flowers were now blooming and the lake had a bright blue glow to it. What was even more shocking was the military base, it was gone. Everyone blinked.

"What the hell just happened?!" cried Knuckles rubbing his eyes.

"Little Planet, flowers, the military base….wha?" said T2.

"You said it." replied Manic in a shocked tone.

Sally didn't even speak. She knelt down, plucked a flower from the ground and stood up. She looked out over the lake and twirled the flower through her fingers. Without warning she spun and ran off along the shore of the lake. The others looked at her, then each other and then sprinted after her. It didn't take long for them to encircle the lake to the far side and as they approached they could see four figures standing tall where the military base has been. Sally's pace increased as she arrived and threw herself at Sonic, knocking him to the ground and then planting a passionate kiss on his lips. The others arrived and for the third time in several minutes gasped. Amy stood smiling next to Chalk and Sonia who had an arm around each other shoulder. For a few seconds no-one spoke. Manic was first to react as he raced at Sonia in a move very much like Sally. Only he didn't knock her to the ground and simply pulled her into a tight hug.

"God Sonia I was worried about you." he said.

"Hey ease up bro! It's not like I was gonna die!" replied Sonia pulling Manic off slightly.

"It's so good to see you're well you three." said T2 stepping up and smiling before pulling Chalk and Amy into a small hug.

Knuckles stood back slightly smiling to himself. He normally didn't show too much emotion but it was evident when he did. Sally slowly sat up and got off Sonic pulling him up as she did. She pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok." she said.

"I'm fine Sal. Those military bods can't do anything to me….but this cursed bruise hurts a bit."

Sally giggled slightly and looked at Amy.

"Amy? What's going on? Where did you go? What's going on?" she asked.

Amy just smiled at her and nodded slowly.

"I'll explain later. For now let's just go home." she said looking up at Little Planet.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaurg!" stretched Sally as she walked out of the bathroom rubbing her wet hair with a towel.

"Enjoy that your majesty?" asked a voice.

"Yes very much so." replied Sally, "And I've told you Marian, you can call me Sally."

"Funny isn't it." said Marian coming into view, "I've know you for all these years and I just can't get used to calling you that."

"It's no worries Marian. I'm still in shock that this has all happened."

"I know. Little Amielle has certainly surprised us all with this turn of events."

"You can say that again, Little Planet, I'm still in awe over it all."

"I think everyone is. I just hope it is permanent now."

"I think it will be. I've never seen Amy like this before. Even when she was at the peak of her powers before she didn't seem this powerful. And if what she tells us about Nenya is true then I think we are in capable hands."

Marian didn't reply, she just nodded. Sally hmmed and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"You're still sad about him aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes. He was my first child and I never even got to know him. I never got to see him grow up, never got to show him the joys of life, never…"

"Hush Marian. I can understand but I think so does he. He has accepted his duty like any righteous person would. And he has watched you since his birth. I think he knows how you feel and he wouldn't want you to be sad. Remember Marian, life can take many forms and even things that don't look alive sometimes can be. The Time Stones might not have been where you intended him to grow up, but it's all he's know and to him it is probably home just like this world is to us. He is still alive, remember that Marian."

Marian wiped away a tear and smiled at Sally.

"You're right Sally. I'm going to live my life as I should. I will keep Nenya in my heart and live my life as he would want me too."

"That's good to hear Marian. Now you got that coffee you mentioned?"

"Right here."

Marian smiled and handed Sally a large mug of coffee from a side table. The two sat down on the sofa and continued to talk.

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Amy sighed lovingly as she let the Time Stones float in front of her. She let them drop back onto their stand and closed her eyes.

"Nenya, you are the binding force of this place. I now pledge myself to helping you to keep this place alive." she said.

"I know Amy. I will be watching…" came a reply in her head.

Amy slowly opened her eyes and turned away. As she did the Time Stones pulsed slightly and then settled down. Amy smiled and walked from the shrine. Outside Sonic was waiting for her.

"Finally letting them settle huh?" he asked.

"I guess so Sonic. I can't keep thinking about Nenya forever. There are other things to do." replied Amy.

"Sure are Aimes. Too many things. But at least Chalk and Sonia are back now."

"True Sonic. Now a much more important task lies ahead of us."

Sonic nodded.

"I've already called everyone together to discuss our next move. We're meeting in about an hour in your parent's garden." he said.

"I'll be there Sonic."

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Manic was smiling to himself as he walked along between Chalk and Sonia. They were all bent over slightly and had an arm over each other shoulders. They were pulled so close together it was a bit difficult to walk. Six feet trying to occupy such a small space was tricky to co-ordinate.

"It almost feels like we've won." said Chalk.

"Well we've won this round, but there will be more." replied Sonia.

"So true sis. I have a feeling I know what Sonic is going to be talking about when we get back." put in Manic.

"Well now that I'm back I'm gonna do everything I can to help." said Chalk.

"I think we all will. We might be back together sis but some people still aren't."

"I know Manic, it will be hard but we have to go for it."

At length they approached Amy's parent's house to find everyone else there already. They weren't late, everyone else was early. Before they had even found a seat Sonic had started talking.

"Well people I must say that I think we are all surprised at what has happened in the last couple of days." he said.

"To say the least Sonic." replied T2.

"Uh huh. Well I don't mean to break you all out of your little victory celebrations but it is time to move on. Little Planet might be back but there is still so much to do. Sally."

Sonic stopped and motioned for Sally to get up. Sally was always the better of the two when it came to plans and speeches so Sonic generally let her do most of the talking. Sally looked over the group.

"Well everyone let's get started. Several things remain to be done. Firstly we must find the others we have not yet accounted for. Tails, Links, Lavender and Bunnie are our obvious first target. We might not know where they are but they will probably be easier to locate and bring back. Secondly we must rescue my children and Petya from the Alliance. This will be hard and we will need the others help to do this. We know they are still alive because of T2's link to Petya but that link is fading. We must hurry. Finally we have two matters to attend to with the Alliance."

"Two?" asked Manic, "Isn't getting rid of them only one?"

"Yes getting rid of them is a primary concern but there is something else too. We must find out who they are and where they came from. We have to try and work out why they are doing this."

"They are human like Robotnik was." said Chalk, "Isn't it simple enough?"

"Evil cannot be a prominent feature of any race. There will always be a few like Tails parents but no one race is purely evil. Not all humans can be like Robotnik. I know it sounds odd coming from me but that is what I believe. If we can find humans who do not want to hurt us maybe we can rally them to our side."

A murmur went through the crowd. Sally ignored it.

"But for now we have other matters to attend to. People this is it! Operation Strike back is now go!"


End file.
